


The Family That Shouldn't Be

by The_Mad_Artist



Category: Courage the Cowardly Dog
Genre: Family Feels, Feelings, Love, M/M, cartoon violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-11-23 07:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Mad_Artist/pseuds/The_Mad_Artist
Summary: With Muriel and Eustace dead, Courage finds himself all alone at the farmhouse. Fortunately or unfortunately for Courage, the villains he faced in the past begins to make themselves at home at the farmhouse, bringing with them much fun and mayhem the small pink dog can handle.Sorry if the summary sucks





	1. The Light That Faded Away

**Author's Note:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth

Muriel is dead.

The notion was still hard for Courage to grasp. One-minute Muriel was fine, puttering around the kitchen, a smile on her face as she hummed her little hum while working on their lunch. Yes, she was fine except for the headache that suddenly came out of nowhere. 

"Oh. This headache will be the death of me." Muriel uttered as she presses a hand to her head.

Courage whined in sympathy for his owner.

"I think I'll sit in my chair for a wee rest." Muriel decided. "Courage, can you please keep an eye on lunch and get me when it's exactly 11:30?"

"Mm-hm." Courage answered with a nod and a smile.

"Such a good boy." Muriel cooed as she gives Courage a few pats on his head.

Muriel's pats always made him happy. Courage watched Muriel make her way out of the kitchen and decided to help her feel better by making Muriel's favorite tea. Once the tea was made and poured into a cup, Courage carefully carried the cup to Muriel. He didn't hear the familiar creaking of Muriel's rocking chair. She wasn't moving at all. She's resting was Courage's thought, so he set the cup on the table next to Muriel's chair and quietly tiptoed back to the kitchen to keep an eye on lunch and to give Muriel the rest she needed.

When 11:30 rolled around, Courage headed back to the living area to let Muriel know it's time. He patted her leg to wake her up, but Muriel didn't stir. A frown creased Courage's face, and he patted her leg again, firmly. Muriel again didn't stir, nor did she move.

Panic settled over Courage as he frantically started shaking at Muriel while yelling, "Muriel? Muriel! Please wake up!"

When that didn't work, Courage was ready to get Eustace when, at the same time, the farmer kicked the front door open and walked in.  
"Muriel! Is lunch ready yet?" Eustace demanded to know.

Courage hopped in place as he points at Muriel and babbles at Eustace. The anger on Eustace's face faded to concern.

"Muriel?" Eustace called out softly at first and then loudly, "Muriel!" 

The farmer wasted no time calling for an ambulance, and Courage quickly made sure to turn off the stove so as not to burn the meal Muriel was making and not to burn the house down. The ambulance arrived quickly, and the EMTs rushed in with a gurney and looked at Muriel. Eustace and Courage watched from the side as the EMTs checked Muriel over and conversed with each other. They worked together to ease Muriel out of her chair and onto the gurney and scrambled for the ambulance.  
Eustace and Courage followed, and both got into the back with the other EMT. Courage sat in the ambulance as it sped to the hospital; he was somewhat surprised Eustace didn't stop the little pink dog from accompanying him. It indeed showed how worried he is for his wife. Once they reached the hospital, the EMTs hopped out their vehicle and taking hold of the gurney, raced into the hospital. Eustace and Courage were asked to wait in the waiting room, and the two sat in the uncomfortable chairs for any news on the woman they loved. It felt like hours went by, it wasn't very long when a doctor- not Dr. Vindaloo- approached them.

"Mr. Bagge?" the doctor inquired.

Eustace and Courage got to their feet and turned their attentions to the doctor.

"How is she?" Eustace asked, fear in his voice.

"I'm sorry to inform you, Mr. Bagge. Your wife has passed."

Courage was sure his heart stopped as he went numb from the news. He vaguely heard the doctor explained how she had been dead since she sat in the chair. The doctor mentioned doing an autopsy and finding a cerebral aneurysm that had ruptured. How he explained that if they had caught it sooner, they could've done something about the aneurysm despite the risks that came with the surgery.

After a moment of silence, Eustace finally spoke. "Did she suffer?"

"There's some mercy in that there was no real pain for her, it was like passing away peacefully in her sleep."

Courage's heart sank. Had Courage been more concerned about Muriel's headache, he could've saved her? Silent once again filled the two as the doctor gave the farmer his condolences and walked away.  
Eustace had gotten a taxi back to the farm, and the ride back home was bathed in silence. Courage gazed up at Eustace as he did not once grumble about the fare costing him money, he just paid the driver and walked into the house. Courage followed Eustace and watched as the farmer sat in his armchair. Courage walked more into the living room and found himself staring at the empty rocking chair. His heart grew heavy, and tears prickled his eyes as the realization that Muriel was gone hit him. He would never hear that chair creak as its owner rocked back and forth in it, will never get to sit in that lap content and happy while being petted by the woman he adored and saved numerous of times from so many dangers, never hear her humming as she cooked or cleaned, never hear her gentle words or hear her scowl Eustace for being cruel to Courage, and never will he ever hear Muriel proudly say her secret ingredient in all her recipes is vinegar.

Courage let out a loud sniff and blinked his eyes as tears began their trek down his face. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and face and discovered Eustace had left. Courage wondered how long he had been deep in thought as he went in search of the farmer. The small pink dog found his remaining owner in the kitchen, placing the phone back in its place. Must've been deciding what to do with Muriel Courage decided as Eustace sat at the kitchen table. Time ticked by, and Courage's eyes roamed around the kitchen when they fell upon the pot on the stove, the lunch Muriel was working on for all three. 

His gut wrenched at the sight of it, but he knew that they hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Muriel wouldn't want them to grow hungry, let alone waste the meal, so Courage took it upon himself to finish what Muriel started. Courage headed over to reheat the stew sitting on the stove, turned the burner on the right setting so as not to burn the stew. He carefully stirred the content as the kitchen filled with an intoxicating scent and the sound of the stew bubbling. Once the stew was perfectly heated, Courage turned the stove off and spooned a helping into two bowls. Not once had Eustace said a thing. He didn't even acknowledge Courage as the pink dog set a bowl down in front of him. Nor did he snarl at the dog to get off the table when Courage sat across the farmer.  
Courage observed Eustace as he waited for his stew to cool, still not a word poured from his mouth and not a muscle twitched. A whine forced its way out of Courage as he slowly began eating his cooled stew. Finally, Eustace picked up the spoon and started eating the stew. Courage was relieved until he saw the farmer finishing half the bowl before getting up from the table and leaving the kitchen. Courage sighed, finished his meal, and set to work on storing the leftovers and washing the dishes. Courage walked into the living room to find the farmer not there, so he went up the stairs, and after checking the bathroom first, pushed the bedroom door open slightly and spotted Eustace's familiar shape on his side of the bed. 

Not quite ready for sleep, Courage hiked up the stairs to the attic to where the computer is.

"You again?" the computer inquired as the pink dog sat on the upturned bucket sitting on the chair.

He stared at the computer screen picking through his thoughts and feelings on what happened the day.

"I'm waiting." the computer uttered, a hint of annoyance in its tone.

Courage finally deciding on what to talk about began by asking what an aneurysm is.

"Which one?" the computer questioned. "There are many types." and commence and educating Courage on the many places in the body where an aneurysm could take place.  
When the computer got to a cerebral aneurysm, Courage recalled the doctor telling them about it and quickly typed on the keyboards.

"Why so interested all of a sudden?" the computer asked.

With a heavy heart, Courage informed the computer the news about Muriel's death.

"Oh, I see." the computer was sympathetic and worked on giving Courage all the information he could find on the cerebral aneurysm.

"Something else on your mind?" the computer examined after observing the pink dog's expression.

Courage typed up what had been eating at him, which to say, he feels responsible for Muriel's death. Maybe if he had paid more attention to Muriel's headache, been more worried about it, perhaps he could've saved her from death's grip.

"Twit." the computer said somewhat fondly. "Aneurysms can be tricky. And most people who have their aneurysms rupture are never aware of it, chalking it up to be some mundane illness until it's too late, no matter how rare that happens. Most catch the aneurysms early before it ruptures when they are being scanned. In other words, it's not your fault."

Courage whined sadly. So, there was nothing the small pink dog could've done. But Courage did feel a little better after being told he wasn't at fault.

Courage and the computer chatted a little longer before he decided it was time for bed. After turning out the light- the computer demanded that Courage didn't turn him off- he went back down to the second floor and into the bedroom. Courage jumped on the bed and made sure that Eustace was asleep before settling down at the foot of the bed. His eyes fixated on the empty spot next to Eustace. A sigh escaped out of Courage, and he closed his eyes as he felt tears well up once more. It's been an emotional day, and he's going to need sleep to prepare for what the next day will bring.


	2. The Promise He Tried to Keep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog belongs to John Dilworth.

There was no funeral for Muriel. There was no coffin for her to lay in. To be lowered within the ground. No headstone to mark who lies there and how long she had lived. Hell, Eustace didn't even bother to buy a lot at the Nowhere Cemetery for the two of them. No. Eustace is having Muriel cremated. Courage couldn't decide if it was because Eustace was stingy with his money as he always is. Or couldn't afford the funeral, the coffin, the headstone, and plot at the cemetery. Courage knew for sure that the reason there wasn't going to be a funeral or memorial service was that they didn't have many friends. All they had was Eustace's mother, but neither woman could stand each other. And there was Muriel's nephew, Fred, but he is locked away in the Home for Freaky Barbers Mental Institution. So there two were, watching the flames consume Muriel, Courage sniffed and let his tears fall as he silently said his last goodbye to the woman who acted as a mother to him. And all the while, Eustace's face betrayed no emotion, and his lips remained tight and silent.

It was back home for man and dog once the cremation was complete. Her ashes placed within a silver urn with the lid screwed tightly shut. Courage clutched that urn firmly to his chest so he would not drop it whenever the truck hit a pothole, bump, or any other obstacle in the road. Eventually, Eustace pulls up their quiet home and stops his truck. However, he doesn't get out right away. Courage gazes up at Eustace and sees he's just sitting there, his hands gripping tightly to the wheel, and a shudder runs through his body. Eustace manages to hold back his emotions and reaching towards Courage, takes the urn from his paws, and exits the truck. Courage winces as the door slams shut and follows Eustace's movement towards the house.

Courage hurriedly gets out of the truck and makes his way to the house. He walks in just in time to catch Eustace setting Muriel's ashes on the fireplace mantle. Courage often forgot there was a fireplace in the living room. Eustace continued not to acknowledge Courage was still there as he sat down in his chair and pick up yesterday's newspaper. After observing Eustace read the paper a third time, Courage knew that Eustace was grieving in his way, and he knew that Muriel would want Eustace to take care of himself after she was gone. That was who Muriel was, always concerned about others.

Courage looked up at the urn and said, "Don't worry, Muriel. I promise I'll take care of Eustace for you. Even if he's not going to like it."

It was a promise he found hard to keep.

Courage made an effort to clean the house as best he could, giving every inch a good cleaning, he tried folding Eustace's clothes the way he liked it and made Eustace's favorite food using the many recipe books Muriel owned. He even included a dash of vinegar in every recipe like Muriel did. Courage also tried handing Eustace the mask used to scare Courage every chance the farmer got. But Eustace paid no heed to the hard work the dog did. He hardly touched the meals he made for the grumpy man, and not once did Eustace take the mask from Courage instead opting to shove the dog away as he said, "Get away from me!"

Courage whimpered softly each day this happened. He noticed that Eustace seemed to age each day as he ignored his health and needs. He knew that Eustace could potentially survive without Muriel, but it seemed like he wasn't making an effort. Courage wanted to be there for Eustace, but there have been times when Eustace left the house without Courage noticing, and each time he came back, it left Courage more and more worried.

The dog knew, despite Eustace's bitter and terribleness towards everyone, Muriel included, he did love his wife, and he couldn't or didn't want to live without her. It was more evident when Courage found some money and a note written by Eustace asking for cremation as well. Since then, Courage counted down the days when that faithful day came.

A week after Muriel's death, Eustace was in the hospital. Courage had found the farmer collapsed next to his truck, and without haste, he ran back into the house and called an ambulance. So now Courage sat in one of the rooms Eustace occupied. Courage watched with a heavy heart as the old man was hooked to machines and a respirator to help him breathe. After running tests, the doctor gave Courage the unfortunate news that Eustace wasn't going to last long. The toll of not taking care of his body had left his immune system and body in a weakened state. With his heart growing ever heavier with each hour ticking by, Courage spent his time in the room watching and waiting but mostly hoping that Eustace would get better despite what the doctor told him. But eventually, Eustace slipped away.

Courage never felt so numbed before as he took care of the medical bills and had Eustace cremated. The numbness remained as the funeral assistant, taking pity on Courage drove him home. Courage wanted to thank the assistant for the ride, but his throat was dry and ached with something but not sure what. He took a step into the living room and stopped. The silence and stillness were eerie, and he wasn't sure he wanted to venture further in. Having little to no choice, Courage took a shaky step into the farmhouse. He marched to the fireplace and looked up at the mantle.

Much too high for him to reach, Courage set the urn containing Eustace's ashes on the floor, walked into the dining room, and pushed one of the chairs into the living room. He placed the chair in front of the fireplace, scooped up the urn and placed Eustace right next to Muriel. After the task is complete, Courage hopped down from the chair and took it back to the dining room and paused as he looked around.

Courage's lips wobbled as he wandered into each room of the house, memories of all the good times, and the bad and terrifying times assaulted his mind. Courage soon found himself back in the living room, staring up at the fireplace.

First, he stared at Eustace's ashes, he tried so hard to take care of him, but couldn't. Courage's eyes wandered on their own towards Muriel's ashes. With a keening whimper, he curled into a ball at the foot of the fireplace. He failed her. He made a promise to take care of Eustace, and he tried, oh how he tried, but in the end, he failed. The whimper made way to terrible and loud sobs as fresh tears cascade down the dog's face. Every time he thought the tears would stop, more flowed from his eyes. Something deep within him was breaking with each sob he cried and a feeling that he never thought he would feel — the feeling of wanting to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone starts going at me about there being no fireplace in the living room, It showed up in "King Ramses' Curse" and "Forbidden Hat of Gold"


	3. The Cat Who Came to Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth

The sky was turning grey when Courage finally cried himself asleep. It was a beautiful morning, and sunbeams stretched across the floor, seeking the only sleeping occupant in the farmhouse. Courage let out a tiny moan as he began to uncurl from his uncomfortable position. His body ached and felt stiff as he sat up, his eyes were heavy and puffy, his throat hurt, and his head throbbed terribly. He felt hollow. Courage knew he was suffering from dehydration as he got to his feet unsteadily. His stomach tightened and growled, letting him know that he hadn't eaten much the previous day. Courage trudged towards the kitchen, and the light that seemed to shine in from the windows merrily assaulted his eyes and made his headache worse. It felt like something was stabbing at his brain.

Courage mustered his way to where the cups were and after taking one, filled it with water. He then grabbed the bottle of aspirin, after struggling to get the cap off, took two pills, and drank some of the water. Courage wanted to eat but knew that he shouldn't have anything when he was dehydrated, or he would make himself sick. The pink dog took small sips of his water until the glass was empty. Courage sat there as he wondered what he should have for breakfast. He didn't want to eat, he didn't want to do anything, but Courage knew that Muriel wouldn't want that. After all, she could've abandoned him when he was a pup, but didn't. So, it was for her sake that he would keep on living. He remembered about the chickens out back and decided some eggs, bacon, and toast would work. He should feed those chickens too.

Courage jumped down to the floor and ignored the squeak of the porch door as he stepped out into the hot, dusty morning. The chickens raced towards him as soon as they saw him and crowded around him, clucking at him for food. Usually, Courage would be nervous around the chickens, but he was too heartsick to care today. He grabbed the chicken feed from where they kept it stored, poured it into a bucket, and dumped it on the ground. As the chickens converged on the feed hungrily, Courage strolled into the coop with the bucket and began gathering the few eggs the chickens laid.

Back inside the kitchen, Courage set about cooking his breakfast. Once done, he chewed in silent and after swallowing the first bite sighed. Courage took his time eating and drinking water and did the dishes once he finished. Courage went back into the living room and laid down in the rocking chair. As it swayed backward and forwards, Courage's eyes closed, and he wondered if the pain will ever go away.

Courage wasn't sure how many days had gone by since his loss. He had continued to do routines, which all seemed mundane to him now. Most days, he didn't have anything to do besides watching tv, but even that became less engaging watching alone, and at times, he didn't have the energy to chew on his favorite items. There were times Courage was operating on autopilot, often forgetting what he did on those days. Courage sat on the front porch, and the afternoon heat rose up from the ground and cling to his fur. A sigh escaping him as he allowed the sun's rays beat down on him. The pink dog was so unaware of his surroundings as he watched a rare wind pick up sand and make it dance across the desert ground that he didn't pay any attention to the long shadow cast upon him.

He only reacted when he heard a familiar voice said, "Dog."

The one emotion Courage walked hand in hand with but hadn't felt in so long crashed into him. A chill flooded his body, which stiffened as his eyes widen in terror. It's impossible for someone's heart to stop and beat quickly at once from dread, but Courage's heart somehow found a way to pull it off. He didn't want to believe it was true what he heard, but his eyes, moving on their own, looked up and locked onto the yellow gaze of Katz. Courage hadn't seen Katz since the time Eustace had called the feline and the other villains the dog had faced to take him out. Not since his scream tore open a hole in the ground and swallowed the villains up. How did they survive? How did they escape?

Questions that ran through Courage's head as he looked Katz over and wasn't surprised by how little Katz had changed, standing there with a briefcase in hand. A slight tremble went through the dog as he suspected why Katz was there. Courage was in no condition to fight back in his weaken emotional state and would be easy to kill. It was what the pink dog expected. What he didn't expect was for Katz to walk past him and into the farmhouse. Courage wasn't even sure it happened when the familiar creaking of the coil on the porch door swing open, and as the door clattered against the frame, pulled him from his daze.

Courage got to his feet and headed into the house to stop Katz from doing whatever it is he intended, but there Katz stood, just within the living room staring in disdain at the fine layer of dust settling on most of the furniture and floor. Courage hovered at the doorway, not too sure what to do as Katz wandered further in, he did react when he watched as the feline picked up the urn sitting on the side table next to the rocking chair. Courage didn't remember removing the urns from the fireplace mantle and placing them on the side tables, but that didn't matter right now, he wasn't going to let Katz touch that one.

"No!" Courage's voice came out in a croak. It had been some time since Courage last spoke. He snatched the urn from Katz's grasp and clung to it tightly to his body. "Don't touch her."

Katz said nothing to Courage's plea, but he could've sworn he saw something flicker in Katz's eyes, saw his face twitch before setting back to his cold expression. Katz changed direction as he headed up the stairs. Courage set the urn on the table and followed Katz, always hovering out of the tall cat's reach. Each room Katz wandered through much like Courage had days, weeks, months ago? He didn't know. The only place Katz didn't enter was the basement since the feline was quite familiar with it. The kitchen was his final destination, and he noted that while certain parts of the house had started gathering dust, the only places not affected were the bathroom, bedroom, and the kitchen.

Courage continued to lurk near the doorway as Katz set his briefcase down by the table, and Katz went rummaging through the cabinets. Dishware clinking against each other as he takes two teacups from within. After searching around the cupboards again, Katz found the box containing the tea bags. Courage didn't know what to say as a nostalgic feeling as he watched Katz made tea and for a second, past blurred with the present as it was a familiar, comforting face he wanted to see so severely.

Muriel.

The memory faded, and Courage was back in the present again, and he was shocked to see he was halfway to the table where Katz sat cup in hand. Courage stood there, biting his lips, unsure what to do.

"Dog," drawled, making Courage jump. "either come join me for tea or leave."

Courage wanted to leave, wanted to call the polices, but questions pulled at him to join Katz at the table. He sat opposite of Katz but didn't touch his tea.

"What are you doing here?" Courage asked gravelly.

Katz stared at Courage and spoke, "Drink your tea, dear boy. It'll do your voice some good."

Courage doubted it, but he took a sip of his tea. He almost finished his drink when he tried speaking again. "Why are you here? Have you come to kill me?"

His voice did sound stronger.

Katz took a sip of tea before answering, "Hardly. I came to stay."

That wasn't what he expected to hear. "Stay here? What? Why?"

"Business has been... lacking as of late," Katz answered.

Courage knew what businesses Katz was talking about since he was the cause of taking them out not once, not twice, but three times. Courage couldn't say for sure if Katz's candy shop was still going or not, so he opted not to add that to the list.

"So what? You blame me for your loss of business?" Courage asked.

Courage gulped as Katz's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hardly. I could come up with a million new schemes If I'm unable to gain new customers for my motel business."

"Then, why are you here?" Courage repeated his question.

Katz surveyed the dog again. "After I heard of the farmer and his wife's passing, I surmised this place to be abandoned."

And ripe for the taken. Is what Courage heard, and that made him mad.

"Well, it's not abandoned! This farm is my home, and I'm not going to let you take it."

Katz's next words sent chills down Courage's spine. "Did the farmer leave this farm to you in his will? Did he transfer the deed over to you?"

No, there wasn't a will. Eustace never mentioned anything about one. Not only did Eustace possibly not make one up, but Courage also hasn't seen the deed to the farm. The safe where the Bagges kept their valuables had gone missing. Eustace must've moved, but for what reason and where Courage couldn't discern. Regardless, it didn't stop him from standing up to the cat when it came to his home.

"E-even if there isn't a will or deed, as long I'm still here, you won't take it." Courage said with much conviction in his voice.

Katz continued to study Courage that the dog felt the familiar quiver of fear run through his body.

Silence filled the room, then Katz said, "How about a game, dear boy?"

Courage watched as the red feline pick up his briefcase and set it on the table. The dog's heart thudded as he watched Katz open the case, wondering what kind of game item he had hidden away. One thing was for sure; Courage wasn't anticipating a pair of six-sided dices.

"It's a simple game," Katz continued as he removed the dices and placed the briefcase back on the floor. "We each roll these dices, and whoever rolls the highest number wins, and we roll again if we roll the same number."

It did sound simple enough. However,. . .

"How do I know those aren't loaded dices?" Courage inquired.

Courage was quite unnerved by how Katz could continue to stare at him with those stony eyes without blinking much. Katz rolled the dices, and Courage watched as the dices read a one and a two when they came to a stop.

"I do not need to use loaded dices to cheat." Katz drawled.

Fair enough.

"So, you get to stay here with me if you win?" Courage had to ask.

"Yes." Katz purred.

"What do I get if I win?" Courage asked.

Katz thought on it and said, "Not only will I leave this farm, but I will never bother you ever again."

Courage was skeptical about this. The pink dog suspected Katz had an ulterior motive to staying beside his businesses doing poorly. He just couldn't put his finger on it and wanted to decline to play Katz's game. But the thought of Katz leaving and never bothering him again sounded good, and he was eager to get rid of the cat. But then why did a part of him hated the idea of Katz going? He chalked it up to being alone for so long that he was desperate for any companionship, even from someone as malevolent and immoral as Katz.

With a determined look on his face, Courage uttered, "You have a deal."

Katz nodded. "You may go first."

Courage grabbed the dices, rolled them in his paws, released, and they clattered on the table. Once they stopped, a smile crossed his face as he saw the dices rolled a four and a six. There was no way Katz could roll higher than a ten. He would have to be extremely lucky to pull that off.

Katz picked up the dices and rolled them. Courage's smile faded as they came to a stop — a five and a six. He couldn't believe he lost to Katz again. He turned his gaze to Katz's triumph face, expecting him to gloat. But Katz seemed to be much too sophisticated to do such a thing.

"Now, I think the first thing we need to do is clean this house that you seemed to neglect to maintain," affirmed Katz.

Courage and Katz spent the rest of the afternoon doing just that. Courage was sure that the feline was going to make him do all the work, but there he was beside the dog sweeping, polishing, and dusting the rooms left alone in a while. And in the end, it was Courage who sat in the newly cleaned living room, panting and sweating from all that hard work. He cringed when he heard Katz crack his neck that was so unnerving. How does he not break his neck doing that?

"Why don't you get cleaned up while I take care of dinner," Katz suggested.

A bath sounded so good to Courage that he didn't care that Katz was going to cook dinner, nor did he think that Katz planned to slip a spider into the tub like he had done with Muriel at his motel. Okay, maybe he did think about that a little, but he pushed that thought a way. On tired and aching feet, Courage disembarked for the only bathroom in the house. Minutes later, Courage sank into the hot inviting water. He sighed as he lathered a washcloth and scrubbed the sweat, dust, and anything else stuck to his fur away.

As soon as Courage was cleaned and dried, he walked down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. He breathed in deeply as the most delicious scent wafted through the air. He knew what that smell was as he made his way to the kitchen, and it just confirmed it when he walked in on Katz cooking chicken dumplings in a pan. His favorite. Courage felt his mouth water, and his stomach growled at the notion of eating them.

Katz turned, spotted Courage, and scoffed, "Dear boy, stop drooling all over yourself and sit down."

That brought Courage back to reality and remembering what Katz is, wondered if Katz had poisoned the dumplings watches as Katz heaped half the dumplings into Courage's bowl and the rest into his. Courage doesn't pick up his fork until Katz takes the first bite even though he ached to eat. Courage slowly picked up his fork as Katz ate a second dumpling, and the dog bites into his first. Courage closed his eyes and moans as it seemed to melt on his tongue. He had bought two bags of frozen dumplings for comfort and cooked half of one of the bags, but they never came out perfect, always still partly frozen and parts still hard to chew.

Now the way Katz cooked the dumplings didn't measure up to Muriel's, they were still perfect in Courage's eyes —or mouth in this case.

"I take it is to your liking?" Katz inquired, amused.

Courage swallows and nods as he pops another one into his mouth. He never knew how hungry he was until he crammed so much into his mouth; there was hardly any room for him to chew.

"Do not eat so many at once. I will not do anything to help you if you choke." Katz chided.

Courage looked apologetically at Katz and chewed slowly. Katz was satisfied when the dog took his time eating and went back to his meal. Courage licked his lips and rubbed his stomach once he finished his meal.

"Thank you, Katz." Courage told the feline.

"You're welcome, dog," said Katz as he got up with his dishes.

Courage helped Katz do the dishes, and once that was complete, they headed into the living room where Katz settled into Eustace's chair, and Courage hopped into Muriel's chair. They watched tv, Courage observed Katz's bored expression the whole time, and when it was late, the feline turned off the tv and headed upstairs. Courage yawned as he followed Katz and wondered where the cat was going to sleep. It was evident when he walked into Muriel and Eustace's room. Courage made haste to catch up in time as Katz pulled back the sheets, he brought with him.

The cat stared at the dog, let go of the sheets, placed his paws on his hips and sternly said, "No dogs al-"

"No!" Courage said firmly.

Katz raised a brow at that.

"I may not be able to stop you from staying here, but I can tell you that I'm not going to let you kick me out of this room." Courage explained.

"Very well. We can. . . share the bed." Katz said with a sigh then narrowed his yellow eyes. "But if I find you on my side of the bed, I will end you."

Courage gulped and nodded, indicating he understood Katz's threat. The feline slid into the bed, and Courage climbed in. It was lucky for Courage that he was a small dog and didn't take much space. Courage couldn't sleep as his brain tried to make sense of what happened today. He couldn't comprehend why Katz would come and why he wanted to stay. He didn't quite believe everything the feline said and was determined to keep a close eye on the feline.

When Courage woke up, the first thing he noted was that he was still alive. The second thing he noticed was that Katz wasn't in bed. The dog had slept much longer than Katz. Courage shuffled down the stairs and was in mid-yawn as he walked past the staircase when he froze. He slowly turned to his right and was at a lost for words by what he saw. A long table Courage didn't know they had was pushed against the wall; the urns containing Muriel and Eustace's ashes sat on that table, photos of the couple put on either side of the urns, an empty vase waiting for flowers nestled next to urn containing Muriel's ashes, and in the center was their wedding photo.

Did Katz do this? Why would he do this? The dog knew the cat to do evil things so he couldn't wrap his head over this random act of kindness.

"Do you like it?" that made Courage jump, and he turned to see Katz watching him. He's so good at being sneaky.

Katz sauntered over to the table and stared at it. Courage didn't know what to say.

"Your Muriel was a remarkable woman." Katz broke the silence. Courage looked up at Katz as he continued. "I've only known her the few times we crossed paths, but I could see she was full of fire and kindness. She could've left you to freeze in the cold when the farmer tied you up outside my motel, but she gave you a blanket to keep you warm. And when I kidnapped her to learn her secret ingredient for her caramel apples, she was stubborn on not giving it up, and she didn't have to reveal it, but she did after you dunk me into my taffy pulling machine."

Courage chuckled nervously at that.

"She showed more of that fire when she came to talk to me about that tea in the submarine. And when we chained her to the wall, she refused to scream to make you come down to the basement to rescue her. Not only did Muriel exhibit these traits during her everyday life and danger, but she also had the patience of an angel to be married to someone as nasty as that farmer. Muriel, my dear, you are loved and will be wholeheartedly missed. And the farmer will be missed as well."

Courage sniffed and felt a tear flow down his face. Katz continued with his speech.

"I'm sure you're no stranger to loss my dear boy, and the pain may feel like it will stay by your side until you take your last breath, remember the pain will diminish, but never really go away, and the wounds in your heart will heal. It just takes time and patience."

More tears flowed freely down Courage's face at the kindness that seems to spring up out of nowhere from Katz. Yes, Courage wasn't a stranger to loss, having lost his parents to a cruel veterinarian's madness when he was a pup and the pain than didn't last long, not when he had Muriel to take that pain away. Without thinking, he hugged the tall cat's legs. Katz stiffened and stared perturbed at the weeping dog.

"Thank you." sniffed Courage.

Katz, in response, pats the dog's head stiffly. "If you've quite finished, I wish to eat breakfast before it grows colder."

Courage pulled away and wiped at his tears. Cat and dog headed for the kitchen, and Courage wondered what more was in store for him and his new housemate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter didn't suck too badly


	4. The Fox Who Stayed for Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog belongs to John Dilworth

Courage can say that living with Katz is undoubtedly different than living with the Bagges. Katz had made some minor changes to the house. He had brought a few of his things over, and Courage was thankful the cat didn't bring his spiders. The next thing the feline had replaced was the mattress and when Courage inquired as to why blushed at Katz's answered and wished he hadn't asked. Courage also wasn't sure how to feel when Katz looked over the many recipe books Muriel owned.

Especially when he criticized, "Does that woman put vinegar in everything she makes? Does she add some into her tea as well?"

Courage bit his tongue because yes, he knew that Muriel practically put vinegar in everything she made. Adding a hint of vinegar did enhance some of her creation. Like the caramel apples that always won her first place at the Nowhere Sweet Stuff Contest. And her homemade dog food. But there also been times when the vinegar added into her meals made them disgusting. Like when she made Courage a peanut butter and jelly with a hint of vinegar sandwich. That was probably the only time it made Courage vomit. Even now, remembering that day and that sandwich had him swallowing back the meal threatening to come back up.

Most days, Katz barely spoke to Courage unless it was to tell him what to do involving chores. Other times Katz would be away and only returned before dinner or sometimes after dinner was done and put away. During the times when Katz would be away for a day or more, Courage would feel a terrible ache or worry for the feline until he came back safe and sound. Courage never told Katz about those feelings, unsure how Katz would react if Courage told him, so the dog buried it all inside him. Katz would allow Courage to accompany him if he had a business or scheme going on in the city. and each of those times, the feline would drop Courage off at some location and repeat the same three words each time, "No dogs allowed."

But he would always return for Courage when he finished up whatever the feline was doing. Today, Katz left Courage at the park with a promise he would come to get him in an hour. So the dog, not wanting to wait on a bench bored out of his mind and not wanting the birds to make fun of him, wandered through the park at his leisure. Courage soon found himself in a vast forest that he didn't know what part of the park.

"How do I get out of here?" he wondered aloud.

As Courage pondered on how to get back to his meeting spot with Katz, he froze up when he heard bushes rustle nearby. He stood rooted to his place, with his eyes growing more prominent as whatever it is coming closer. The pink dog began shaking, and his teeth chattered as he envisioned something like a giant bear or something just as equally frightening came closer and closer. The shaking and chattering came to a stop when Cajun Fox collapsed right in front of him. Courage didn't anticipate running into the fox again, and right now, the dog could see Caju was exhausted with his tongue lolling out his mouth, his chest heaving as he panted and gasped as if he had run a marathon. Cajun pushed himself up, and Courage froze up when the fox looked up at him. His thoughts raced through his head on what Cajun Fox will do to him.

"Pooch!" Cajun cried out.

Courage flinched as the fox darted over to him. "You gotta help me! There's one of those fox huntin' party after me."

"There are fox hunts here in Nowhere?" Courage asked, surprised.

"They sure' are, and this ain't the kind that let us go when caught. It's the old school killin' kind." Cajun explained. "I'm beggin' ya to help me! I ... I don't wanna die."

Both dog and fox's ears picked up the sound of other dogs barking the thundering of hooves hitting the ground with each stride the horses took.

"Please." pleaded Cajun Fox.

Courage would never forget how Cajun planned to use Muriel for his Granny Stew, but despite that and answering Eustace's call to take the dog out, Courage couldn't bring himself to let the fox die. Not like this.

"I know I'm not going to like this," grumbled Courage.

Ten barking foxhounds burst through the bushes and into the clearing Courage stood in. He watched them nervously as a group of humans on horses came into view. The horses stopped except for the master of foxhounds stopped near Courage.

"I say, dear boy. Have a fox come through here?" the man asked. Courage shook his head.

"Hmm. I wonder where the fox could have gone." The man inquired.

The master went to speak to the rest of the hunters on what is to be their next course of action while the foxhounds sniffed around the clearing attempting to pick up Cajun's scent. One of the hounds came over to Courage and began sniffing at him. Courage smacked the dog in response to the unwanted sniffing. The hound yipped and growled at Courage, and the pink smiled nervously as the other hounds began growling as well.

Courage produced a small ball with a faux fox tail attached to it and waved it before the hounds. The growling stopped, and with wagging tails, the hounds jumped and barked happily at the sight of the ball. Courage, with all his might, threw the ball in a random direction, and the dogs went off after it.

"Ah! The hounds must've picked up the fox's scent again. Tally ho!" the master of the foxhound stated. Courage was amazed by how humans can be quite dense sometimes.

The pink dog watched as the humans urged their horses to follow the hounds, he waited to make sure they were far enough away before turning, and with a great big "Bleh!" spat Cajun out his mouth.

Courage stuck his tongue out and ran his hands over the appendage as he attempted to get the taste of fox off it.

"Whoo!" Cajun Fox exclaimed as he got to his feet. "Thanks, pup. I owe ya one. Now I should skedaddle before those hounds pick my scent up again. Na wè!"

Courage watched as Cajun Fox head off away from the hunting party and leaving the dog to return to figure out how to get out of there on his own. Courage did manage to find his way out, but he ended up being a little late perturbing Katz and wouldn't let Courage explain the reason why. Katz drove Eustace's old truck back home in silence, which Courage didn't like. He wanted to apologize to Katz but kept his mouth shut out of fear.

They returned home and had just walked into the farmhouse when Katz stopped in his track. Courage stopped walking as well and wondered why when he heard clattering coming from the kitchen. The dog bit at his claws as his imagination conjured up a burglar or some famished creature. With narrowed eyes, Katz steely sauntered towards the kitchen with Courage following close behind. Katz was ready to kill whatever or whoever was in the kitchen and stopped when he set foot in the kitchen, an eye twitching at what he saw. Courage looked around the feline's legs and was shocked to see who it was.

Cajun clutched a variety of food his hands as he kicked the refrigerator door closed and turned towards the new arrivals.

"Hey there!" he greeted cheerfully.

Katz's eyes wandered over the mess Cajun seemed to have created in his clean kitchen and asked solemnly, "What are you doing here?"

"Makin' dinner as my way of sayin' thanks to the pup for savin' my tail," Cajun answered as he began dropping vegetables and other items Katz and Courage didn't get at the store into the bubbling concoction on the stove. The dog also noticed how Katz stiffened at Cajun's answer.

"Saving your tail?" he articulated.

"Yup! Saved me from a fox hunt." Cajun summed up as he stirred the contents in the pot.

Whatever it was the fox was making made Courage eyes water.

"If you think I'm getting food poisoning eating that, you're mad." Katz voiced.

"Food poisonin'?!" Cajun Fox screeched.

Cajun took a spoonful of the soupy meal and said full of pride, "This here is good stuff!"

Cajun held the spoon up to Courage, who shook and took a step back. "You didn't put a person in there, did you?" he asked cautiously.

"Nah, just meat from yer fridge."

Courage didn't have time to react as Cajun forced the spoon into his mouth. He didn't appreciate that and waited for his throat to clench or some reaction to how terrible it was, but it was surprisingly. . . Tasty. Courage swallowed and made a small happy noise.

"See? The pup likes it." Cajun said, beaming with pride at his culinary skill.

Katz said nothing. The feline still refused to eat what Cajun Fox cooked, "More for us!" was the fox's answer and hoped to spend dinner in silence, except the fox wouldn't stop chatting away whether anyone was listening or not. After dinner ended, Katz got up from his chair and left the house. Courage became concerned for Katz and puzzled over why Katz didn't like Cajun being there. The dog picked up Katz's dishes from the table and started washing them with Cajun's help but would occasionally glance out the window for the cat. Finally, giving in to his worry, Courage left Cajun to finish the cleaning, and he exits the house. Courage didn't have to go far, Katz stared at the garden, his tail flicking in agitation. Courage carefully walked over to the cat.

"Katz?" Courage called out.

"Why did you save the fox?" Katz questioned.

Courage paused at Katz's question, and a tremble ran through him when the feline looked over his shoulder at the dog. There was anger in his eyes.

Courage answered truthfully. "Because fox hunts are cruel and no foxes deserve to be chase down until they can't run anymore and ripped to shreds by other dogs or shot by the hunters. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Katz turned and gazed down at Courage, then chuckled. "Your kindness knows no bound. Forgive me for being so aloof today. My meeting in the city didn't go the way I hoped."

"It's okay." Courage said with a smile and relieved Katz understood.

Both cat and dog walked back into the house and found the kitchen clean, and the fox nowhere in sight. Their first thought was that he had gone home, but it was made apparent it wasn't the case when Katz opened the door to their room and found the fox lounging in their bed.

"This is a mighty comfy bed." Cajun Fox said as he stretched. "Where you two sleepin'?"

Courage glanced up at Katz as he shook, and his claws dug into the door frame. He stayed in his spot as Katz stalked into the room, and the dog's ears perked up when, with a loud yelp, Cajun flew out the room. He hit the wall with a thud, and Courage was amazed that Cajun didn't dent the wall. Katz appeared in the doorway, and Courage blinked when the feline picked him up by his neck and grabbed the door handle.

"No. Foxes. Allowed!" he punctuated each word and slammed the door shut.

Cajun Fox flopped on his back and stared at the door.

"What? You gonna do the forbidden with the dog?" he meant it as a joke, but the door opened again and with a startled cry, ducked down as a knife embedded into the wall where his head was and a second pair lodged itself between his legs. The door slammed shut again.

"I was only kiddin' ya! I'm gonna find another place to bed down." Cajun said and went off to find a room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be interesting for Cajun Fox to speak a bit of Creole Na wè means see ya.


	5. The Duck Who Brought Back the Windmill Vandals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog character belongs to John Dilworth
> 
> I was intending to finish this chapter last night and I was almost done with it, but the typhoon had knocked out my power and it was out until a little after 8 pm tonight. I'm just so happy I saved what I had typed and didn't have to recreate whatever I might've lost. Since I have two Courage fanfics I'm going to alternate between writing them so I don't end up neglecting either one.

It turned out the fox decided to extend his stay at the farmhouse by claiming he needed a place to lie low until he's sure the fox hunt was over — much to Katz's annoyance. Katz and Cajun Fox were like water and oil. The fox's laid-back personality and messy behavior clashed with Katz's calm and sadistic nature and his need for order and cleanliness, and those two were continually arguing with each other like a married couple. One such case was when Cajun Fox decided he would cook for all of them every day, and Katz objected to the idea, saying they will all take turns making dinner each night. It would've fallen on deaf ears if Courage didn't take Katz's side. Another problem Katz seemed to have with the fox was that not only would he make enough for five or six people, but their grocery bill had skyrocketed thanks to the fox.

The problem was brought up by Katz, who said with the way Cajun had them spent on the food, they were better off trying to grow their food in the garden behind the house. So, a few days afterward, as Katz drove all three to the city, Cajun spied a nursery next to the road. Whether Cajun was excited to see the nursery or impatient for Katz to pull over to it, he had grabbed at the wheel. Their truck swerved along the road as fox and cat fought for the wheel, both yelling at each other, while Courage, sitting between the fox and cat, screamed in wanton terror as they sped towards a truck. Luckily, they swerved out the way at the last second and came to a stop next to the nursery.

Both Courage's teeth and body shook in fear as he gripped the dashboard in a death grip as his blunt canine claws dug into it.

"You crazy, suicidal, moronic, backwater fox!" Katz screamed, turning towards Cajun Fox.

Courage never saw Katz so angry before. Oh, he has seen him angry plenty of times in the past, but never has he seen fur raised all over his body angry before.

Cajun crossed his arms. "I take offense to that backwater remark. Besides, you're the one that said we're better off growing our food."

"You could've gotten us all killed!" Katz stated.

"But we ain't dead, now are we?" Cajun replied nonchalantly as he got the passenger door open.

Katz swore as the fox hopped out the truck and raced for the nursery. Once calm, Courage was at a loss at what to do. He wanted to go after Cajun Fox, but he didn't want to leave Katz. He surveyed the feline's face and saw Katz pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed and his fur still partly raised.

"Katz?" Courage voiced out with caution.

"Go, dog. I'll be there momentarily once I no longer desire to skin the fox and sell his pelt to an old rich woman." Katz informed the dog.

Courage didn't hesitate to comply; Courage jumped down and gently closed the door so as not to get on Katz's simmering temper. The nursery had a small building in front that held the register, garden tools, plant food, outdoor furniture, and seeds. Behind the building was a large greenhouse, and to the left were the bushes and sapling trees, and to the right were tables placed in rows with potted plants on top and potted plants hanging from the rafters.

Courage was able to spot Cajun Fox as he looked at some plants, a cart next to him already had some plants placed in it. Courage made his way over to the fox to see what he had. Looking at the images sticking out the dirt, Courage saw Cajun and chosen green, red, orange, and yellow peppers and that he was looking at some hot peppers.

Courage looked at the table across from them to see what it held. Courage and Muriel rarely went into nurseries like this one. Anytime Muriel wanted to grow something, Eustace would refuse to allow them in one, "Too expensive." being his constant excuse, thus the only place Muriel would be able to buy any plants or seeds were from the store they bought their groceries in or when she would receive seeds as a gift with whatever she purchased. Muriel always tried to grow something on the farm, and Eustace repeatedly whined that he could never produce anything. Courage knew the reason the farmer could never grow anything was simply that he never really tried, and if Eustace tried, he didn't put any effort into it and then whined when he didn't get the result he wanted.

"What'cha think, pup?" Cajun asked, pulling Courage out of his thoughts.

Courage turned his attention towards Cajun, who held up a potted plant to the dog. After making their careful selections, Cajun and Courage went to pay for their plants. Courage hadn't seen Katz at all. He even glanced around every chance he got looking for the cat. He worried at first until both he and the fox walked into the building, and the dog spotted Katz looking at one the books in the corner of the room. Courage wasn't sure why he was relieved to see him. The dog was about to take a step when a rack holding seed packets caught his eyes. He spun the tray, looking at each seed packet until he got to the corn.

Other than sweet corn and popcorn seeds but also blue corn and what was more intriguing was a packet of rainbow corn seeds. Courage never saw corn like it before, and each corn kernel looked like a gemstone. Courage plucked the seed packet off the rack and read the instruction on the back. Courage intended to put the package back, but someone snatched it from the dog's paws.

"What's this? Corn?" Cajun inquired, looking at the item in his paw. "Pretty. Didn't see you as the type to like pretty things."

Courage chuckled, clearly embarrassed. Cajun held onto the package and not only picked out the blue corn but other different variety of corn seeds.

"Not sure if corn will grow in the desert, but we can still it give a try," Cajun stated.

"Are you quite done?" Katz asked after joining the two.

"Where you been, pussy cat?" Cajun asked the cat.

Katz's eye twitched and said calmly, "I've been reading up on gardening." he directed his attention to Courage. "I never understood why the Bagges have hay in the barn, but we make compost we can add them to help the vegetables grow."

That was a brilliant idea, and Courage was impressed.

"Can we go pay, or are you two gonna keep standing there making googly eyes at each other?" Cajun asked.

Courage blushed, and Katz growled. "I swear fox. . ." Courage attempted to stop Katz from causing a scene.

"Boy, I can't wait for these vegetables to grow!" Cajun Fox proclaimed.

"Mm-hm." Courage agreed.

The three made it back to the farmhouse with no problem. Katz had grabbed a shovel and smashed it against Cajun Fox's head, but other than that, it was all right. Katz had gone inside while Courage and Cajun worked on tilling the soil and planting the seeds and plants. Courage picked up the watering can and discovered it empty. He headed over to the water pump and was about to fill the watering can when he heard a noise.

"Huh?" curious, Courage followed the noise to the windmill. He approached the tall structure and looked up. His eyes widen in panic as he saw Le Quack at the top of the windmill tinkering with the engine.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Courage.

"What's up, pup?" Cajun asked as he strolled over to Courage at the same time, Katz came out the kitchen door asking, "What is all the screaming about?"

Courage stood rooted to his spot as he shook and gibbered away.

"Is that Le Quack up there?" Cajun asked, shielding his eyes from the sun. Katz raised a brow at Cajun and wondered if the fox realized that he had sunglasses to block out the sun for him. The fox didn't notice Katz's expression as he hollered up, "What'cha doin' up there, Le Quack?"

Le Quack looked down at the three and went back to looking for a tool. "I fix the windmill for you."

"But it ain't broken," Cajun interjected.

"Observant, aren't we?" Katz said.

Katz couldn't see it, but Cajun glared at him behind his sunglasses.

"I break, then you pay me to fix it, oui?" Le Quack answered.

"He knows that since we're watchin' him break it, we ain't gonna pay to fix it, right?" Cajun inquired.

"I do not know how someone's mind works, so I can't say what Le Quack's thinking," Katz answered.

While all this was happening, memories of what happened when the windmill stopped ran rampant through Courage's brain until he ran screaming for the cellar door.

"For a small dog with tiny legs, he sure can run fast," Cajun commented, watching the dog go.

"Agreed," Katz said.

Courage didn't bother to open the cellar doors; he crashed through them. Clattering sounds drifted out the cellar as Courage rummaged around down there. He came back out carrying Eustace's old tool bag. Most of the tools had bits of rust on them, and they were cheap, but he hoped they would get the job done. Sweat poured off the dog as he climbed up the windmill and sat the tool bag down next to Le Quack.

"Qu'est-ce que ç'est? Go away." Le Quack tried to shoo Courage away, but he wouldn't budge.

The dog dug around the toolbox and pulled out a socket wrench. The dog tried to push the duck out the way and find what he did before the blades stopped.

"How annoying." Le Quack articulated and managed to kick Courage off the top.

Courage screamed as he fell but luckily grabbed hold of the tower. He looked up when he heard a terrible noise come from the motor and the blades come to a stop.

"Nooo!" he wailed as the sky turned red. "Oh, no."

"Skies shouldn't be this color of red," commented Cajun.

"I'm amazed at how observant you've been today," Katz told the fox as neither aware of the cloud of smoke coming right for them.

"You know what pussy cat, you can kiss my-"

The sound of a blade hitting flesh rend the air as Cajun Fox's body twitched. Courage screamed in horror as Katz stared at Cajun's headless body mystified. He felt a presence behind him, he turned and found himself face to face with one of the undead vandal's undead horse. The vandal swung his double-headed ax at Katz.

"Noooo!" Courage wailed again.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Katz said perturbed as the double-headed ax-wielding vandal held up the cat's head.

"Qu'est-ce que ç'est?" Le Quack asked, looking over the side at what's happening.

Coming out of his horrified state, Courage climbed back to the top. "You got to fix this!" he commanded the duck.

"And why should I?" Le Quack asked, crossing his wings over his chest.

"'Cus, they'll come after you next." Courage answered.

He could see Le Quack process that, and the duck said, "I fix ze windmill, oui?"

Courage nodded as Le Quack picked up a tool, the dog gulped as he jumped off the tower, screaming the whole way down. Air rushed out his lungs as he landed on something hard, bony, and moving. He looked behind him to see that he had landed on one of the vandal's steed. He made a strangled sound, and then his ears perked at the sound of "Pup!"

"Huh?" Courage wondered and looked down to see Cajun's head attached to the saddle.

"Help me out here!" implored Cajun.

Courage grabbed the fox's head and jumped off the horse. Courage landed on his bottom then got to his feet as the vandal turned his steed around and went after them. Courage once again belted out a scream as he noted the other three vandals came right at him. Before they got close, they vanished in the same cloud of smoke that brought the vandals to the farm. Courage stopped running and looked up to see the windmill blades turning. He sighed in relief.

"Ah, pup?" Courage looked up at Cajun's head, smiled sheepishly, and dashed over to Cajun's body.

He handed the head to the body, and Cajun said, "Thanks, pup." as he placed his head back onto his body.

Courage was relieved until he turned and was horrified to see Katz's body wandering around without its head. He forgot about Katz! The dog wailed as he recalled the first time the vandals appeared, they took Eustace's head first, and it had disappeared with the vandals when Courage got the windmill working temporarily. They needed to get the mill to stop working to bring back the vandals and get Katz's head. Courage hatched a plan, and he climbed up the windmill. Le Quack turned to him, "I have, how do you say, fixed the windmill."

"I need you to make it stop working for a bit." Courage informed him.

"Why, after telling me to fix it?" Le Quack asked.

"One of the vandals' took Katz's head, and we need to get it back," explained Courage.

Le Quack sighed. "Very well, I will jam the windmill."

"Jam it once I tell you to and fix it when I tell you, okay?" Courage told him.

"Oui." Le Quack answered.

Courage then climbed back down, and he quickly explained it to Cajun.

"You want me to be bait so you can retrieve the cat's head?" Cajun tried to clarify, and Courage nodded. "Ya know, I think pussy cat looks better like this. We won't have to continue listening to him be all high and mighty towards us."

Courage placed his paws on his hips and glared up at Cajun. "Just do it."

"Fine, fine. I'll run around for you." Cajun conceded.

Satisfied, Courage took Katz's hand and led him over to the windmill.

"Stay." Courage didn't notice the irony of a dog commanding a cat to stay. Courage stayed near the windmill and called up, "Are you ready, Le Quack?"

"Oui," answered Le Quack.

"Are you ready, Cajun?" Courage asked the fox.

"No!" was Cajun's answer.

"Do it!" Courage instructed Le Quack.

The windmill came to a squeaking stop, and the clouds came back. Cajun pelted out a scream and took off as the vandals gave chase. Sweat flew off Courage as he frantically looked for Katz's head among the vandals. Where is it? Where is it? There! He spotted Katz's head attached to the double-headed ax-wielding vandal's steed. Courage took off after the vandal. The dog panted as he worked his legs to run faster, he leaped and snatched Katz's head.

Courage landed on the ground and stared into Katz's stony eyes. "Yay!" he declared happily.

"Ahhh! Move your puppy dog tail!" Cajun screamed as he ran past, one paw attempting to keep his head attached to his neck.

Courage looked back and screamed at the vandals coming his way with their weapons held up high. Courage ran off in the same direction as Cajun and screamed as loud as he could. "Now! Now!"

The sword-wielding vandal came closer and closer towards Courage; he swung his sword down and towards the dog's neck. Courage felt the air against the back of his neck. He stopped and gasping to catch his breath found the vandals gone. He sighed in relief.

"My dear boy." Courage looked down at the head in his paws. "A little help getting back onto my body would be appreciated."

Courage chuckled nervously and walked over to Katz's wandering body again. He handed the feline's head over to Katz's body and watched as Katz set his head back onto his neck.

"Thank you. . . Courage." Katz expressed his gratitude.

Courage was surprised, never hearing Katz call him by his name before. But he smiled and said, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Katz gave Courage a strange look and turned away. Courage wanted to ask him what was wrong when Cajun said, "I'm fine too, thanks for asking."

Whatever Katz was going to say to the fox died when Le Quack came down the windmill and said, "I get paid now, oui?"

"Paid?!" Katz and Cajun bellowed at the same time.

Courage let out a sigh, decided to get a drink for his aching throat, and leaving Katz and Cajun to deal with Le Quack.


	6. The Weremole Who Helped Save the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth

For whatever reason Courage, Katz, and Cajun could understand, Le Quack decided to stay at the farmhouse. The duck claimed it was until he got paid, but Courage was sure there was another reason. The first thing Le Quack tried to claim was Eustace's old armchair only for Katz to calmly explain to the duck that the recliner is his. So, Le Quack decided on Muriel's rocking chair. Courage wasn't happy about it at first, but he always been used to lying on the floor.

The farmhouse was quiet for days following the windmill vandal's incident, and the occupants of the farmhouse even erected a huge sign next to the windmill, stating not to come near the windmill except for weekly maintenances. Additionally, to this sign, a second sign reading _'No Foxes Allowed'_ was put up on the chicken coop after Courage came across Cajun getting ready to behead one of the chickens. Courage was able to rescue the poor scared fowl in time and reprimanded Cajun for it, which the fox whined that he couldn't help it and that it was in his nature to do that. Luckily for Cajun and Katz, their heads were able to reattach to their bodies without any problems. Except when Cajun's mouth would run, making Katz knock the fox's head off. Courage scolded Katz on taking pleasure in tormenting Cajun.

The backdoor squeaked open as Courage walked out with a bucket full of eggshells and leftover vegetables and fruits and tipped the contents into the compost bin they built. Courage turned to look at the garden. Fortuitously the plants weren't harmed by the vandals and were thriving, and Courage hoped the seeds were doing well and would sprout soon. His ears perked up when he heard a car pull up.

"Huh?" he wondered and went back into the kitchen.

Courage set the bucket next to the sink and trekked through the dining room and into the living room. Once he arrived, the vehicle had sped off as Katz stood at the door looking down. Curious, Courage walked over to the feline, and being thankful that he was smaller was able to see what Katz was looking at. It was a large rectangle package wrapped in brown paper.

"Did you order something?" Katz asked Courage.

"Uh-uh." Courage answered.

"Maybe one of the other two did," Katz said with a sigh.

Katz picked up the package, and Courage was closing the front door when Cajun came out of the basement, and Le Quack walked down the stairs.

"Who was at the door?" Cajun asked.

"Someone has left a package. Did either of you order something?" Katz inquired as he set the package down

"Non." Le Quack answered.

"Not to my knowledge. Let's see what it is." Cajun said, tearing the package out of Katz's paws. Cajun ignored Katz as he pulled the box over to himself, and Courage and the villains stared at the trunk. Cajun popped the latches, opened the lid, and to Courage's dismay, a ventriloquist puppet laid inside.

"Qu'est-ce que ç'est?" Le Quack asked.

"It's a dummy," Cajun said, lifting the puppet from the trunk.

"The correct word is ventriloquist puppet." Katz corrected.

"dummy, puppet, what's the difference? It's still a creepy doll." Cajun stated, turning the dummy this way and that way.

Courage continued to stare at the dummy as Cajun lifted one of its arms and let it drop. He met a moving, talking dummy once before on the submarine cruise Katz had blown up. The dog was still surprised that Katz didn't realize he was pretending to be the ventriloquist's dummy. Courage thought that dummy was friendly and understood his fear of dark confined places, but this dummy was. . . Creepy. From its wooden black painted hair slicked back, its black suit and bowtie, to its blue colored eyes. Its eyes looked almost life-like, and it felt like it was watching Courage. A shiver ran down his spine, and Courage was sure goosebumps appeared on his skin even if he has fur covering his body.

Cajun stuck his arm into the dummy's back and worked its mouth. "Hi! I'm Vinny the dummy!" he made it say.

"You're not very good at that." Le Quack stated.

"Yes, we can see your mouth move." Agreed Katz,

"Well, duh, I'm not a ventriloquist," Cajun answered as he pulled his arm out and placed the dummy back into its trunk.

While the villains went off to continue what they were doing, Courage eyed the trunk and couldn't shake the bad feeling he had.

Later that night, Courage sat up in bed, feeling thirsty. He glanced over with half-lidded eyes at Katz's back as quietly as not to wake the feline, Courage out of bed, and headed downstairs for a glass of water. He stopped mid-yawn at the top of the stairs and was a little more awake when he heard noises coming from downstairs. From ghosts to robbers went through his mind as he stood there, shaking in fear. He stared down the hallway where the bedroom was and debated whether to wake Katz up. He decided he didn't want to wake the cat up, fearing what he would do more than whatever was down in the living if the dog woke him up. So, swallowing hard, Courage began his descent down to confront whatever it may be.

Courage stepped down from the last step, and with only the moonlight gleaming through the window as his source of light, the canine looked around for the intruder. Glancing around the room revealed no intruder of any kind and nothing out of place. Except the dummy was no longer in its case. It was now sitting in the rocking chair with one of its arm dangling over the armrest. Courage let out the breath he was holding. It must've been Cajun setting up the dummy as to play a joke on the others. A quiet nervous chuckle slipped out Courage's mouth, and he walked towards the kitchen. He drank his water and went back upstairs only to pause and look through the railing at the dummy. He still wondered what was it about the puppet that creeps him out so much.

The next few days brought unexpected surprises for the occupants of the farmhouse. First were the few holes that started showing up around the house. Katz was sure Courage was responsible for them even though the dog insisted on being innocent. Regardless, Katz made Courage fill in the holes. The next strange surprise was another package arrived at the house containing another dummy just as equally creepy as the first. Cajun thought it was funny at first until a third showed up the next day. Courage pondered on why they were receiving the dummies.

Courage woke up later than he usually woke up as he had some trouble sleeping last night. Nightmares of Muriel attacked by unknown beings plagued him, but what made it even weirder was when he went to save the older woman, she had changed to Katz in trouble. Courage had woken from that, being glad that he didn't wake up screaming and waking Katz up. He laid there, wondering why that happened in his dream. He had saved Katz once, but that wasn't enough to warrant Courage dreaming about the feline. Right? Courage neared the bottom of the stairs and came to a halt when he heard Katz ask, "Which one of you two blathering idiots is responsible for this?"

Courage could see Katz holding another dummy in his paw, making it four now. The feline was not in the least bit amused. Cajun looked up from the cookbook he was studying, and Le Quack looked away from the tv, remote in his wing.

"Why does it have to be Le Quack or me? Why ain't you pointing fingers at the dog?" Cajun inquired.

"Because the dog is afraid of everything, including his own shadow and can't prank anyone if his life depended on it," Katz answered.

"Hey!" Courage declared putting his paws on his hips. It was true, but still!

"How do we know that you aren't the one, how do you say, doing it?" Le Quack asked.

"Even I'm not inane enough to find purchasing one dummy, no less than four a funny joke," Katz said as he rubbed his temple. "Regardless of whoever is responsible for this, I want these dummies out the house. Today." Katz tossed the dummy to the ground and walked away, leaving it lying in a heap.

Cajun went back to his cookbook as Courage walked over to the dummy. He wished he knew who was sending them these dummies, but not of the packages had return addresses on them. Courage picked up the dummy and stared at it before walking through the house and out the back door. The dog trod towards the barn, weaving around to the side, set the dummy down, and began to dig. Once Courage had a hole wide enough and deep enough for the dummy, he dropped it in and kicked dirt on it. With one less doll for them to deal with, Courage went to work on his chores and figure out what he's going to do with the three remaining dummies.

Courage walked out of the farmhouse and walked a fair distance before sitting down on the sandy ground. The dog gazed up at the sky as the setting sun painted the heavens in the colors of orange, red, purple, and dark blue. Katz was still angry that no one got rid of the dummies, Cajun pointed out that there were no return addresses so they couldn't send them back and the only way he could think on how to get rid of them was by fire. Le Quack suggested they could sell the dummies to some suckers and started scheming up a con for the dummies. Courage shook his head as he focused on another thought — the villains. The house was a lot louder and chaotic, with three personalities clashing against each other, and he could tell Katz preferred it when it was only the two of them. Courage knew that since the farmhouse is his, he could kick the fox and duck out, but despite four people living in the house, it felt livelier than it did when it was just him.

By the time Courage finished his musing, the sun had winked away, and the moon was starting to come up. Courage started at the moon with furrowed brows. The moon wasn't quite full yet, but it seemed more significant than usual and glowed a strange green color.

"That's weird," he commented out loud.

He stayed long enough to see the moon make its final ascent into the sky, got up, and headed back to the house, intending to check on Katz. Before coming out, Katz had his usual cup of tea, felt drowsy, and decided to take a bit of a nap. Courage watched with worry on his face as Katz stumbled up the stairs. It was abnormal for Katz to become tired before dinner, and Courage hoped Katz wasn't coming down with anything. He decided he'll check on the feline first and then help Cajun make dinner. Hopefully, Katz will be awake by the time dinner is ready, so he and the other two villains wouldn't have to draw straws to see who was going to wake Katz up.

Courage at least hoped Cajun and Le Quack wouldn't cheat like they did the last time. Courage reached for the door handle when he heard a noise in the kitchen. A sound he didn't associate with cooking. He hopped up onto the trashcan and peered through the window. To his amazement, he saw Cajun on his knees, pinning the duck to his chest with one paw while the other one held his beak shut. Le Quack struggled to free himself, but what was more shocking to Courage was that one of the dummies was moving! It was making its way slowly towards Cajun, and Le Quack and Courage could feel his heartbeat quicken as he questioned why Cajun was holding Le Quack and letting the doll come towards them.

Looking back to Cajun, the dog could not see a hint of fear on the fox; he looked calm and relaxed. The dummy clamped its hands on Le Quack's face, and the duck's eyes widened visibly. Courage could see the dummy's mouth moving as it seemed to speak, but he couldn't hear what it was saying. Courage's eyes widen in shock as light poured out of Le Quack and the dummy's eyes. He couldn't see what was happening, but when the light died down, the dummy slumped over, and Le Quack stopped his struggling. Cajun set the duck down, and Courage watched as Le Quack seemed to examine his wings. Courage knew that something has happened not just to Le Quack but with Cajun as well. He needed to warn Katz, but he couldn't go through the kitchen with those two in there. Going around the house would take time, so Courage's only other option was to go through the basement using the cellar door.

He hopped down and ran over to the newly repaired cellar doors, pulled them open, down the stairs across the room, up the stairs, and out the door. Courage was sure Cajun and Le Quack heard him open the door, but he didn't care as he rushed up the stairs to the second floor. He burst through the bedroom door and slammed the door shut.

"Katz! Katz!" whatever he was going to say died away when Katz said, "Dog?"

Katz slowly turned when Courage came in, but what made the dog pause was the fact that Katz was wearing the white suit he favored, and Courage knew that Katz only wore it during a business or a scheme. His eyes were a little more different than Katz's, Courage wasn't sure how he could tell, but he was able to and the way he spoke. . .

"Whatever is the matter?" Katz asked.

He spoke and had the same mannerism as Katz, but the voice didn't have the British accent the dog knew so well.

"Wh-who are you, and what have you done with Katz?" Courage demanded.

One of Katz's- no, not Katz- eyebrows rose, and he said, "Very perspective of you. Your beloved Katz is in here."

He picked up the puppet, and Courage watched in horror as the not Katz manipulated the puppet's mouth.

"Cou. . . rage. . ." it said his name in Katz's accent.

"No!" Courage wailed in horror.

Not Katz tossed the dummy aside. "It has been years since my brothers, and I were flesh and blood. Now, all we have to do is wait for the magic of the moon to end." He eyed Courage. "Now, you are the last one to provide my brother with a body."

"Oooooooh!" cried Courage as the dummy possessing Katz walked towards him.

Fortunately for Courage, the cat had to walk around the bed, giving Courage time to turn and open the door. Unfortunately for Courage, Cajun and Le Quack stood outside the door, blocking his escape. Or so they thought. Courage let loose his patented scream and launched himself into the air like a rocket. He crashed through the ceiling and landed in the attic. He sat there, stunned and groaning.

Hearing, "You can't escape." had the dog shaking his head to clear it, and he looked down into the hole. The dummy possessed villains stared back up. Frighten, Courage rushed off, grabbed some wooden boards, nails, and a hammer conveniently left up in the attic and covered up the hole. Taking more wooden boards, Courage quickly made his way to the door and board that up like he was trying to keep the undead out. Tossing the hammer aside, Courage ran over to the computer and forgetting the bucket he usually sat on, hopped onto the seat.

"About time, you came back." the computer drawled. "I was beginning to grow bored with defeating the angry kitty at chess all the time."

Sweat popped off Courage as he heard the doorknob rattle and began typing furiously, "Four dummies. . . Refers to themselves as brothers. . . Weird green moonlight! Search quickly!"

"Don't rush me. It'll take a minute," Computer replied perturbed.

"I don't have a minute!" Courage wailed as he heard pounding on the door.

"During 1904," computer began. "there were four brothers known to be ruthless and hassled people." Courage chewed on his claws as the computer showed the dog photos of the four brothers while his current enemies banged on the door, causing it to bow in with each blow. The boards creaked but held. "One day, they crossed the wrong old woman. She turned out to be a witch, and she turned them into indestructible walking, talking dummies. Apparently, she had a thing for turning people into dummies. The story goes; they searched for a way to reverse the curse, but no matter how long they searched, they didn't find any. They did, however, find a way to transfer their souls."

The computer continued showing Courage photos and telling him the story. "How do you find these things?" Courage wondered.

"You'll be surprised what anyone would put on the internet. Now, do you want me to continue or not, twit?" Computer asked, annoyed for being interrupted.

"Sorry." Courage apologized.

"The four brothers found they could transfer souls with another person with an incantation when the moon is green, which occurs once every three hundred years."

The brothers spent ninety-nine years waiting for the moon to turn green. Courage thought as the blows on the door grew worse.

"Oh, and one more thing." The computer said, catching Courage's attention. "The moon's effect only lasts an hour once it started its ascent." Courage pulled the fur on his left arm aside like it's a shirt sleeve to look at the watch there as computer confirmed, "You have less than thirty minutes to put back the souls in their rightful bodies, or it'll be another three hundred years before whoever is in the dummies can find new bodies to occupy. So. No pressure."

"What's the incantation?" Courage hastily typed since he didn't hear what the dummy said before.

"No clue." Computer answered. "I guess not everything is posted online."

"Ooooooooo!" Courage wailed again, tugging on his ears.

A loud boom that shook the house followed by a crash had Courage turning to the door with a scream. The brothers had blasted the door in no doubt by using dynamite Le Quack kept in the basement. As the smoke cleared, the possessed villains stood in the doorway.

"Give it up, dog. There's nowhere you can go." The brother possessing Cajun stated.

Courage proved him wrong by throwing himself out the window. The villains walked over to the window, amazed the dog would do that.

"Should we go after him?" the brother in Cajun inquired.

"No," the brother in Katz answered. "We'll leave him with our brother. The moon is still in its magical stage, and we must make preparations so our hosts can't get their bodies back before it ends."

Courage launched himself out the window far, and after bouncing a few times on the ground, he came to a halt near the barn. He laughed from the pain. The dog froze at a voice, crooning, "Hello, body."

Courage looked back to see the dummy he had buried standing near the hole he had climbed out with dirt falling off him. "I did not appreciate getting buried like that. I think I'll repay the favor once we switch bodies."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Courage screamed and made a run for it.

He could hear the dummy's legs creaked as he pursued him.

Courage feared the dummy would catch him and transfer their souls. His ears caught the sound of something falling into a hole. He stopped and looked back to see the dummy missing and a hole in the ground. He faintly heard, "Who or what are you?" from the hole followed by a growl and then "N-no! Stay away from me!"

The dog heard screaming and a scuffle coming from the hole. It went on for a few minutes when the dummy flew out the hole startling Courage. The dummy landed nearby, groaning with some mild damage done to the dummy's wooden body, and the puppet's suit ripped and shredded. The question Courage was about to ask was answered for him when the Weremole came up from the hole. The dog, frightened to see the Weremole again, was sure he was going to attack him next. Courage was about to plead with the Weremole but stopped when he noticed he was growling at the dummy.

Courage looked up at the sky and noticed the moon was losing its green glow. He was running out of time, and he didn't have the magic spell to get Katz, Cajun, and Le Quack back into their bodies and the three brothers into the dummies. He looked over towards the dummy, and an idea popped into his head. He hurried over to the dummy and demanded, "What's the spell to transfer souls?"

"Stupid dog. What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?" the dummy inquired.

They both heard a growl and looking back at Weremole, saw that he had left his hole and was inching closer, drool trickling down his chin.

"If you don't tell me, then I'll let my. . . friend, use you as a chew toy." Courage threatened.

It worked as Courage hoped for the doll said, "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you!"

"Oh, no!" Courage said not wanting to risk having his or Weremole's soul transferred with the dummy. "Write it in the sand, and it better be the correct one."

The dummy's eyes focused on the Weremole sitting there with his teeth bared and began writing the chant in the sand. Once the dummy had finished, Courage read the spell, committing it to memory. The dog wiped the sand with his foot, erasing the words, and headed for the house. He stopped when he heard footsteps behind him, le looked back to see Weremole following him.

"D-do you want to help?" he asked.

The Weremole made a chuffing sound, which Courage took as a yes. While on their trek, they heard voices, and the two hid near the chicken coop. Courage held a finger to his lips and looking around the corner saw the villains had started digging a hole and had several bags of cement piled up nearby.

"I hate this tiny feather body already." Le Quack growled.

"At least you don't have goofy eyeballs. How the heck does this fox keep them behind these sunglasses?" Cajun asked.

Courage spotted all three of the dummies sitting against the cement bags. The dog slowly and quietly crept towards them.

"Silence your jabbering and finish digging the hole." Katz barked. "We need to get these dolls encased in cement and buried before time runs out."

"Why aren't you helping?" Cajun asked.

"Because I'm the eldest and the leader. Now get back to digging." Katz stated and walked back towards the house.

Courage reached the puppets and reached out to grab them when a voice crying out, "Hey!" startled him.

Having been found out, Courage grabbed the dolls and ran far enough towards open space to say the spell. He turned towards the villains, and facing the dummies towards them, began chanting the spell. He was interrupted when paws wrapped around his neck, causing the canine to choke and sputter. Courage was unaware Katz had come back.

"Pity, our brother will be without a body. Convenient for us that we are digging a hole to hide the corpse along with the dolls." Katz said with a grin.

Courage dropped the dummies and grabbed at Katz's paws, his vision beginning to grow dim. The pressure around his neck released him as the dummy in Katz screamed. Courage sat on the ground, taking in large gulps of air and saw that the Weremole had chomped down on Katz's tail. The dog picked the puppets up again and facing them away from him once again spoke the incantation. When Courage had finished, the Weremole dug his way into the ground as Katz screamed, "No!"

The same bright light Courage saw blazed in not only Katz's eyes but everyone else as well. He dropped the dummies and squinted his eyes. Once the light died away, Courage blinked his eyes and saw Katz, Cajun, and Le Quack lying on the ground, but stirring, which he saw as a good sign. The dog looked up at the moon and saw it was no longer green. He did it. He restored the villains to their rightful bodies.

"Whew!" he sighed in relief.

His relief didn't last long as a voice growled, "You. . . Stupid. . . Mangy. . . dog!"

Gasping in horror, Courage watched as the dummies climbed to their feet, eyes filled with rage set on him.

"You cost us our bodies! Now we're going to see to it you never see the light of day again!" the eldest brother growled.

Courage began shaking even when the Weremole dug his way out the ground in front of the dog growling at the dummies. Courage was shocked to see the feral mole willing to protect the dog, but he didn't stop their approach, but something did.

"I don't think so."

The voice full of cold rage made the dummies stop in their tracks. They turned to see Katz standing in the middle, Cajun on his left, and Le Quack on his right, glaring down at the dummies with fury blazing in their eyes. At least Courage was sure Cajun's eyes were rage-filled behind his sunglasses. Katz took hold of his head and cracked his neck to the right then the left, which still made Courage cringe when the feline does that.

Looking back down at the dummies which they did not move, Katz said calmly, "Gentlemen."

All three picked up a weapon of their choosing. Le Quack held up a wooden club with sharp spikes sticking from it, Cajun picked up a double-headed ax, and Katz had the flamethrower he was planning to use on Courage once. The dog was so glad he wasn't at the receiving end of those weapons, but he and Weremole still moved out of the way.

"Let the pain begin," Katz concluded.

Courage and Weremole watched from the sidelines as they took their anger of having their bodies taken on the dummies. Courage winced as a blow was landed, and the dummies scream rend the air. One puppet even crawled towards Courage only to be pulled back. Courage had to admit the villains were brutal in taking their revenge out on the dummies, but because of the magic placed on them, they couldn't destroy the puppets. After minutes of pounding, chopping, and burning the dolls had satisfied the villains, learning themselves they couldn't kill them, Cajun went and gathered the trunks the dummies came in while Katz got chains.

Weremole had gone off and came back with the fourth dummy, and they worked together wrapping the chains around the dummies, placing them into their trunks, wrapping the chains around them, and putting them into a catapult Courage didn't know they owned. No one spoke a word while they did this, and they watched with a pull of the lever, the trunks were tossed into the air and far away from them.

Once the trunks were out of sight, Cajun was the first to speak. "Man, I'm exhausted. I could sleep for a week."

"Oui." Le Quack agreed as he followed the fox into the house.

The only one not to speak was Katz, who just headed inside. Courage couldn't blame the villains for feeling exhausted. He was exhausted himself. He decided he'll fill in the hole in the morning for right now; he wanted to sleep. The Weremole followed as far as the back of the house and dug his way into the ground nearby. When Courage got into the kitchen, he paused for a minute and walked over to the fridge. He searched the refrigerator and came out with a large metal bowl. Sitting inside the container were rabbit meat Cajun had been marinating for their dinner. Courage took a sniff and smelt spices, but they didn't smell overly spiced, but even if they were, the dog was sure the Weremole would eat it and not care. Courage took the bowl outside and set it next to the hole. The Weremole poked his nose out the hole and sniffed the air.

"Cajun was planning on cooking this for our dinner, but I think he wouldn't mind you having it after helping us out." Courage told the Weremole.

The Weremole stuck his head out and sniffed at the bowl. He opened his mouth wide and engulfed the entire dish. Courage made a disgusted face watching the Weremole eat and spit up the container and go back into his hole. Courage took the bowl back inside and set it in the sink to clean in the morning. He went up to his and Katz's bedroom and found the cat passed out on the bed. The dog climbed into the bed, not at all surprised that Katz didn't stir. As Courage closed his eyes, he realized that there was now a new addition living on the farm.


	7. The Dream that Became A Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth
> 
> I was originally going to introduce the Clutching Foot into chapter seven but I couldn't think of a idea so I wrote this one up. 
> 
> Fun fact: I never saw Toy Story 4 and so a few days after posting my chapter with the dummies I rented Toy Story 4 and saw the four dummies in the movie and all I could think about was what a coincidence.

Sunlight fell across Courage's eyes, waking him from his sleep. A groan escaped his mouth as the sunlight made his head throb. Why was his head throbbing? What happened last night? What did Cajun make to give Courage a pounding headache? Courage slowly opened his eyes and blinked them a few times. He slowly turned his head towards the window to see the sun high in the sky, and he wondered why he overslept. Another aspect that confused Courage was he was back at the foot of the bed and not in Muriel's place.

I must've moved here in my sleep. Courage thought.

He jumped down from the bed and headed for the door. He stifled a yawn and wondered if there was any breakfast left. Courage walked down to the living room, and the first thing he noticed was how empty and quiet it was. How unusual. He heard a noise as he neared the door to the kitchen, a very familiar humming noise. He opened the door, walked in, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Courage's eyes widen, his mouth hung open, and he could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. Muriel hummed a happy tune as she busied herself at the sink. She turned and smiled at Courage.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you have a good sleep?" she asked.

Tears blurred Courage's eyesight as he ran over to Muriel and hugged her legs.

"What's ever the matter, Courage?" Muriel asked, concerned for the little dog.

Courage tightened his grip on Muriel as tears fell from his eyes. It was a dream — all of it. Muriel and Eustace's deaths, being alone, and then the villains coming to the farmhouse and staying. Nothing but a dream. Here Muriel is alive, and the villains aren't living at the farmhouse with him.

"I had a dream. A terrible dream that you died suddenly, then Eustace died afterward, and I was alone. All alone." Courage wept.

Muriel pat Courage on the head. "There, there, Courage. Everything is all right now. How about we chase those tears away with some happy plums?"

That sounded perfect.

"Mmm-hm." Courage agreed, pulling away from Muriel and wiping the last remaining tears from his eyes.

Muriel resumed her humming as she headed for the refrigerator to get the plums. Courage sniffed and watched with a smile on his face, happy to have Muriel back. Something flickered out the corner of Courage's eye, he turned towards it but didn't see anything. Courage shook it off as the sun reflecting of a tear in his eye and went to help Muriel make the happy plums.

Courage and Muriel sat down at the kitchen table to eat the happy plums, and Courage observed that Muriel didn't have a third cup out for Eustace.

"Where's Eustace?" Courage pondered.

"Oh, that man's outside working on his truck. You know how he doesn't like having any of the happy plums." Muriel told the dog.

That makes sense. Courage thought.

"Be a dear and add the sour cream to the plums," Muriel told Courage as she went to place the baking pan into the sink.

Courage took up the spoon and heard something behind him.

"Huh?" he looked over his shoulder but didn't see anything.

"Is something the matter?" Muriel asked.

Courage shook his head and spooned sour cream into the two cups. The dog tried not to think about what he heard, but he could've sworn he had heard his name called out.

After eating the happy plums and washing the dishes, Courage and Muriel did the laundry and took the wet clothes outside to hang.

"I tell you, Courage, sometimes it's nice to let the clothes air dry," Muriel said.

Courage agreed as he helped carry the basket after Muriel. The older woman hung a blanket onto the clothesline, and Courage gave her a

clothespin.

_"Co. . .age. . ."_

The dog held up another clothespin to Muriel when he heard his name behind him. He looked back and thought he saw something flicker in the distance. He shook his head, believing it's his imagination and handed the clothespin to Muriel.

They did a few more chores around the house until it was time for lunch. Courage sat at the table tail wagging as Muriel brought the contents of their lunch over.

"Here we are, steak and mashed potatoes. I put a wee dash of vinegar in the potatoes." Muriel whispered the last part to Courage.

Courage didn't care if there was vinegar in the potatoes. Courage was more than happy to eat them.

_"Co. . .ur. . .age. . ."_

Courage had taken his first bite into the steak he had cut off when the voice came back. He ignored it when he realized Eustace wasn't at the table.

"Where's Eustace?" he wondered once more.

"Taking a nap, I imagine. It's no use waking him since he'll no doubt be cranky. I've saved a plate for him to eat once he's awake." Muriel explained.

Courage saw no reason not to believe Muriel and went back to eating his lunch, but that nagging voice kept making itself known.

This was wonderful, this was peaceful, and Courage sighed happily. The rhythmic creaking of the rocking chair as Muriel rocked back and forth was music to his ears. The warmth of her hand as she stroked his head and back was soothing that it made him forget all his worries. The dog was so happy to have Muriel back, and nothing scary happened the whole day.

"Isn't this lovely?" Muriel asked.

Courage made a sound of agreement as he lazily blinked his eyes.

"Doesn't it just make you want to stay like this forever?" Muriel inquired.

Yes, it did. Courage let out a yawn and began drifting off to sleep. The dog was on the verge of dozing when a faint voice pulled Courage out of it.

_"Cour. . .age. . .!"_

He attempted to ignore the voice and focus on Muriel's petting, but the voice wouldn't let up.

_"Snap out of it, stupid dog!"_

"Ignore him. That's just Eustace trying to get you to open your eyes so he can scare you like he usually does," Muriel reassured Courage.

Courage agreed that Eustace would do something like that, but his brows still furrowed with a frown. That voice didn't sound like Eustace's voice. And why did he tell Courage to snap out of it instead of wake up?

_"Courage!"_ the voice was growing louder.

"Shh, Courage." Muriel hushed softly. "You need to rest. Just go to sleep, and it will all be over."

Courage wanted to do what Muriel told him, but that pesky voice wouldn't let up.

_"Don't give up, Courage!"_

Give up? Give up what? All this was becoming frustrating for the dog. It was driving him mad as he tried with all his might to remember why that voice is so familiar.

_"Open your eyes, Courage!"_

Courage's face twitched. As much as Courage wanted to fall asleep in that warm, loving cocoon, he just couldn't because that voice seemed to echo throughout the room.

_"Fight her, Courage!"_

Fight her? Why would he want to fight the woman who saved him? Who loves him?

"Shhh." Muriel shushed again.

Courage turned his attention away from that invading voice and tried to focus on Muriel's voice and hand. But the stroke along his back was no longer gentle and warm. It was harsh and pulled at his fur, and why did Muriel's hand feel clammy?

That voice had gotten louder, almost like it was in front of Courage, and it was shouting.

_"Don't listen to anything she says!"_

Katz!

Courage's eyes flew open as he realized it was Katz's voice he was hearing! His eyes darted left to right, but he didn't see the feline anywhere in front of him. The cat's next words made Courage's blood run cold in his veins and his breath catch in his throat.

_"That's not Muriel!"_

Heart beating slowly with dread, Courage turned to look over his shoulder at Muriel, and an audible gasp came out his mouth. Muriel's hair became long and wiry, her skin looked dry, and her teeth became longe and sharp.

"Courage?" growled the creature.

Doing what Courage does best, he jumped into the air letting out a loud scream in the creature's face. Courage bolted for the front door and fumbled with the door handle.

"Don't go, Courage!" the creature cried out.

Courage whimpered as he heard the creature lumbered towards him and was able to pry the door open. He ran out the door and kept running straight, using Katz's voice to guide him. The dog didn't know how far he ran until he came to a skidding halt. He stopped at a ledge. He looked around him. He noted that much of Nowhere had disappeared save for the farmhouse and the land around it. Courage shook and wondered how he was going to get out of this nightmare. Did he dare jump?

"Courage!"

Turning back, Courage saw the creature gaining on him. Any minute it will reach him and pull him back. He turned and got ready to jump.

"Courage?"

Muriel's voice caused Courage to pause, and he turned back to see Muriel completely normal again, and the sad look on her face made the dog's heart ache.

"Why do you want to leave? You can be with me safe and sound forever." Muriel pleaded.

Muriel held her arms out, and Courage so desperately wanted to run into those arms. He wanted to stay here with Muriel.

_"Courage, please come back to me!"_

Katz's desperate plea brought Courage out of his daze. The dog turned back to the edge and with his eyes screwed shut, took the plunge. Courage's eyes snapped open, and the first thing he felt was a pain in his arms. Looking ar them, he caught sight of two different hands holding onto his arms, one belonging to Cajun and the other to Katz's who's claws dug into his limb. His gaze followed the arms to the cat and fox. Both had a determined look on their faces, their teeth bared and clenched tight, and Cajun's sunglasses were slightly askew. Looking closely, he also saw that Le Quack held onto Katz, and Cajun had a rope tied around his waist, and Weremole was at the end of the rope.

"Don't let go!" Katz cried out at the same time as Cajun yelled, "Let go of him!"

Something tugged on Courage again, he looked back and wished he hadn't. He realized his body was half-submerged in water, and he was soaking wet. He also realized Katz and Cajun were equally damp. Looking behind him, Courage saw that they were playing tug-o-war with a considerable emaciated creature with aqua-colored skin, unkempt wiry hair. Two large round black eyes dotted with other eyes above those eyes, and rows of long jagged teeth pushed out from the creature's large lips. It had its long thin arms wrapped around his waist. It was trying to pull the canine into the murky depths of the diminishing pond.

"Aaaaaahhh!" screamed Courage and grabbed onto each of Katz and Cajun's wrists.

"Pull!" Katz shouted.

"I am pulling!" Cajun exclaimed as his feet worked to find footing on the desert ground.

With a mighty tug, Courage was free of the creature's grip, and Katz and Cajun toppled back with Courage landing on top of them. Courage groaned weakly and quickly perked up when he heard the creature shriek. The creature reached for them as its pond grew smaller still. Another scream worked its way to Courage's mouth, but Le Quack had wiggled his way out from under Katz, pulled out his favored mallet, and swung it down onto the creature's hand. It shrieked loudly and retreated into the depths of its pond as it dried up. Courage and the villains stared at the spot the pond was moments before when finally Courage asked, "What happened?"

The villains stared at Courage.

"You don't remember?" Katz asked, concerned.

Courage's brain throbbed as he tried to recall. He was about to tell them he couldn't remember a thing when it came flooding back. The pond appeared on the farmland, and Cajun and the others thought it was the black puddle Queen coming for a visit. Courage, as usual, was hesitant to go near the pond. He wasn't sure what the black puddle Queen would do to him, not since their last encounter, and also because not only did it not look like her puddle, but it was large enough to be a pond, and the water was a different color.

Movement in the water caught Courage's attention, and he saw the creature moving towards Cajun, who had gotten closer to greet the black puddle Queen and unaware of the danger. Without a second thought, Courage rushed passed the others and pushed Cajun out the way as the creature grabbed for the fox.

He looked at the villains and asked incredulously, "You saved me? Why?"

"Some of us owe ya for saving our tails," Cajun answered.

"And it would be, how do you say, boring without you around." Le Quack added.

"But you should've seen it. When that thing grabbed ya and dragged ya into the water, Katz rushed over and grabbed you." Cajun turned to Katz. "I thought all cats hated water."

Katz was miffed, "I can tolerate water when I need to."

That was true. Courage thought as the dog remembered Katz donning scuba gear when he attempted to blow up the submarine.

"I joined in with Katz and grabbed hold of yer arm. Then Le Quack and Weremole came in to help us when the thing started pulling us in as well." Cajun continued. "We didn't know what it did to ya. You were limp and unconscious, and we were calling out yer name, but ya didn't seem to respond. Not until kitty cat called ya a dumb dog did ya react."

"How did you know it wasn't Muriel?" Courage inquired.

"The water must be enchanted. It was reflecting your dream world in its surface." Katz answered.

Once Courage had gotten all his answers, he realized he was cold from the water despite the desert heat bearing down on them, and his arms ached. Moreso, the limb that Katz had dug his claws into.

Katz must've noticed, for he said, "Let's go inside and get you cleaned up Courage."

Courage was ready to get to his feet, but Katz picked him up instead. Courage wasn't sure what to think as Katz took him into the house and up the bathroom on the second floor. The cat placed Courage on the toilet, and the dog watched as Katz turned the water on. When the tub filled up, Katz turned the water off and put Courage into the tub. Courage sat there in silence as the cat bathed him. Courage would protest, stating that he could do it himself, but his arms still ached and throbbed, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to move them without wincing. Wince he did when Katz washed at the scratches on his arm. The feline's face betrayed no emotions as Katz focused on his task of caring for the dog.

Once Katz was sure Courage was thoroughly washed and cleaned, he pulled the plug from the drain and wrapped Courage in a towel. He set Courage back onto the toilet. When Courage was mostly dry, the dog watched as Katz pulled bandages from behind the mirror. Katz knelt in front of Courage and took hold of his arm. Courage could see concern etched into the cat's face as he looked at the scratches.

"I do apologize for scratching you, dear boy. I kept losing my grip, and I couldn't think of any other way to hold onto you." apologized Katz as he dabbed at the wounds with a gauzed pad.

Courage was amazed at how gentle Katz was to him as the cat wrapped the bandage around his arm. Of course, Courage didn't like the feel of the gauzy material around his arm and wanted to chew on it. But glancing up at Katz's narrowed eyes made him pause.

"I will place a cone on you if you even think about chewing on the bandage." Katz threatened.

Courage gave him a nervous smile, and weakly promised not to. Convinced Courage wouldn't, Katz then said, "Now if you will excuse me. I'm going to. . .bathe myself."

Courage's brows furrowed as Katz left the bathroom and wondered for a moment why Katz seemed embarrassed until he realized what Katz meant about bathing himself. The dog felt a flush form on his muzzle, and he tried to think about something else. Luckily Cajun poked his head to inquire if Courage was done getting washed as he too wanted to take a bath.

Courage had slept deeply that night, and by morning his arms ached a lot less, but the bandage still itched, and he wanted to bite at it, but Katz's threat about the cone was still fresh on his mind. The dog sat before the altar Katz had erected in memory of Muriel and Eustace for him. He stared up at Muriel's picture and noted the flowers in the vase were starting to wilt and will need to be replaced soon. He whined softly as that empty feeling came back.

"Aw, don't be sad, pup!" Cajun exclaimed. "I know just the thing to cheer you up! Ice cream topped with my homemade chili chocolate sauce."

Cajun held the bowl before Courage, and the canine could see the fox had drowned the ice cream scoops with his chocolate sauce that it resembled more like soup than ice cream.

"Non, non. What the dog needs is to beat something up." Le Quack stated as he held up a bat.

Weremole walked over and spat a live trembling bunny next to Courage.

"Yuck!" Courage exclaimed in disgust as saliva dripped off the rabbit on to the floor.

As the villains, or at least Le Quack and Cajun were arguing while Weremole growled and hissed, about the best way to cheer Courage up, the dog caught a whiff of something in the air. Leaving the villains to continue their bickering, he followed the smell to the kitchen, where he found Katz pulling a baking tray of plums out

the oven. Katz glanced over to Courage as he asked, "Are those happy plums?"

"'They put a smile on your face' is what that woman wrote in her recipe," Katz said as he began spooning the plums into cups. "Go ahead and spoon as much sour cream into your cup as you want. There's plenty."

Did Katz go to the store to get the ingredients to make the happy plums to cheer him up? Katz's kind gesture touched Courage. Courage didn't know what to say when he realized that the villains were trying to cheer him up in their ways. A smile graced the dog's face as he spooned a lot of sour cream into his cup, and then the other three villains came in to have a cup of their own that Katz denied making extras for. Courage concluded that his life might not be the same when he had Muriel. However, living with the villains still had the same dangers and terrors Courage dealt with daily, but the dog can say for sure he was happy as he chuckled at Cajun teasing Katz and Le Quack grimacing as Weremole inhaled the cup and chewed loudly. A family. He had a family again. It may not perfect, but Courage was happy to have this preculiar family, even if it shouldn't be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this sounds like the end of the fanfic, but I assure you that it's not. I just wanted the villains to be the ones to save Courage from peril I still have plenty of chapters to write up especially since I have yet to put Courage and Katz together.


	8. The Halloween Where Pumpkins Attacked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **All Courage the Cowardly Dog character belong to John Dilworth**
> 
> _Firstly, **Happy Halloween!** I hope all of you have a fun and safe Halloween._
> 
> _Secondly, I would like to show my appreciation and gratitude to those who sent a comment and/or a kudos. Thank you so much for them! They made my day reading all the nice things you've said. I honestly thought everyone would get tired of reading another fanfic with the same plot with Muriel and Eustace dying and the villains living with Courage as some of the other fanfics. Thank you all so much again. I will try to reply to your reviews as soon as I can._
> 
> _Thirdly, I know I said I was going to switch between my two CtCD fanfics, but I really wanted to do a Halloween chapter for The Family that Shouldn't Be. Plus, Tales of Halloween inspired me with the living evil pumpkins attacking idea. I also wanted to have Muriel and Eustace be able to visit on Hallow's Eve when the veil is at its weakest, and the dead can visit the living for a certain amount of time. And sorry, still no Clutching Foot appearance. I'll make sure the Clutching Foot shows up in the next chapter._
> 
> _I also apologize if some of it feels rushed. I did have a deadline for getting this chapter done in time for Halloween._

It was the day before Halloween and Courage, and the villains were on their way to pick up some items to celebrate it. Much to Courage, and to his surprise, Katz's dismay, Cajun wanted to hold a horror movie marathon. So, their first stop was at a blockbuster to rent movies. Courage still wondered how he and Katz got roped into picking out movies.

"All I'm saying is we should replace the tape player with a DVD player," Cajun said as they walked into the building.

"I think that is something we should agree on unanimously," Katz argued.

Though it was Autumn, the middle of Nowhere was still a hot desert, the heat had lessened slightly despite it, and the city was starting to feel the chill of winter coming. Courage looked up at Katz. The feline was wearing a grey sweater over a white dress shirt. The dog wasn't sure why he thought Katz looked suave wearing those clothes and wondered why his thoughts went to when the feline had dressed as a captain during that submarine scam of his and thought he looked. . .dashing. Courage shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Courage watched Katz pick a movie off the rack and study it.

"Uh, Katz? I can ask you a question?" Courage asked.

"You already have," Katz answered as he placed the movie back.

Courage gave the cat a disgruntled stare. "I wanted to ask you why you don't like horror movies."

"The horror movies these days are all the same. Drugs, sex, naked women, alcohol, and more blood a human body can't hold. I much prefer the old classic horror movies." Katz answered.

Cajun scoffed. "Those old black and white movies are sooooo boring."

"You do realize that without the classics, the horror genre wouldn't be the way they are today," Katz informed him.

"Yeah, 'cus someone thought they were boring and decided to improve them." Cajun conversed.

Since Courage didn't like horrifying movies, he left the villains in the horror section and was in the children section looking at the Halloween themed cartoons he could find. As he looked over one, he heard a commotion as the employee attempted to wrestle a movie out of Weremole's mouth while Katz holding onto Weremole demanded the feral animal to let go. Other than that little hitch and having to pay to replace the damaged tape, they each chose several movies they wanted to watch. They went to the store to pick up ingredients to cook with and drink.

Before going into the store, they had to remind Weremole repeatedly not to attack or eat anyone. The shopping was still tense for Courage as he kept a close eye on Weremole. Katz and Weremole stayed with the cart as the other three looked at the pumpkins sitting in the front of the produce section. Courage noted that each pumpkin looked perfect; not even one was misshapen or had a blemish on them. He grabbed a random pumpkin and spotted a sticker on it, stating the military produced the pumpkins. The few times Courage encountered the military didn't turn out well, so he had a foreboding feeling towards these pumpkins.

"Hey, pup!"

Courage looked over to see Cajun walking over to him with two pumpkins under each arm.

"Found a pumpkin yet?" he asked.

"Mm-hm." Courage answered.

"Let's put them in the cart, yeah?" Cajun said.

They, along with Le Quack, placed their pumpkins into the cart. Cajun went back and came back with two more pumpkins. Courage knew five of the pumpkins were for each of them, but Cajun wouldn't say why he got an extra pumpkin.

When they reached the baking aisle, Courage spotted Halloween themed cookie cutters. He set them in the cart and other items to make sugar cookies, and every time he did, he would glance up at Katz to see his reaction. The cat gave none. Once they paid their purchases, they loaded everything into the back of the truck, got into the cab, and drove home. Once at home, they set the pumpkins near the front door, placed the tapes next to the tv, and put their groceries away. Katz, Cajun, and Courage started working on the sweets they wanted to make for Halloween.

Courage was the last to finish as he wasn't making one cookie dough but four. Plain, black, orange, and green. Katz was still there, enjoying a cup of tea. He wrapped each dough and placed them in the refrigerator.

"Need help with the dishes?" Katz inquired.

Courage was surprised to hear Katz offer to help with the dishes, and he wasn't going to refuse. "Yes, thank you."

With Katz's help, they finished washing the dishes in record time. The rest of the day went by without a hitch, and Courage was quite relaxed as he went to sleep that night.

Courage woke early on Halloween day to get started on his cookies. He rolled out the chilled cookie dough out on the table and used the cookie cutters on each one. The pumpkin cutter in the orange dough. Bat and cat cutters in the black dough. The witch in the green dough. And the skull and ghost cutters in the plain dough. He wiped at his forehead and let out a breath once the cookies finished being baked and cooled. Next came the decorating as he set out the different colored icing on the table.

With his tongue tucked between his teeth, Courage started working on drawing faces on each cookie. A lot of the faces were crooked, and as long they tasted good, he didn't mind that they weren't perfect. The dog smiled at the cookies, ready to be eaten during their movie marathon. He turned around and stopped. Katz leaned against the refrigerator watching him.

"Uh, why are you just standing there?" Courage inquired.

"You were so fixated on your decorating I didn't want to disturb you," Katz answered as he walked over to the dog.

Katz leaned over to inspect the cookies. "There isn't any vinegar in these, is there?"

Courage had to fight not to roll his eyes. "Muriel was the one that put vinegar in everything. These are plain sugar cookies." Courage answered.

Courage watched Katz plucked a pumpkin cookie from the plate, took a bite, and chew. The cat stopped eating and eyed the cookie.

"What's in this?" he asked after he swallowed.

Oh, right.

"I added some allspice to make the pumpkin cookies taste like a pumpkin." Courage explained.

"Interesting," Katz said. He finished the cookie and said, "You better not enter them into the Nowhere Sweet Stuff contest next year."

Courage blinked his eyes at Katz. His tone didn't sound at all threatening or menacing. It seemed more like he was being playful, maybe even . . .teasing? No. That can't be right. Courage shook his head; he was sure he imagined it. The kitchen door swung open, and a being with a carved pumpkin for a head burst into the room.

"Roar!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Courage screamed. He leaped up and clung to the side of Katz's face shaking and stammering.

Katz wasn't affected by the scare. If anything, he was annoyed. Cajun reached up and pulled the pumpkin off his head. Courage had been focusing on the frightening pumpkin head; he didn't realize it was Cajun.

"Hahaha! Sorry, pup. I came to tell ya both that we're just waitin' on ya both to carve the pumpkins out on the front porch, and I couldn't resist tryin' to scare ya." Cajun apologized.

Katz spoke not a word as he calmly and gently grasped Courage with a paw and pulled him off. The cat plant the dog in one of the chairs walked over to Cajun, grabbed the pumpkin out the fox's paws, and slammed it down on his head. Cajun yelped as the pumpkin smashed into pieces.

Appeased, Katz turned to Courage and said, "Let's put your cookies on the dining table with the other sweets, so they don't get in the way of cooking later."

"What about the dishes?" Courage asked.

"We'll have the fox do them for scaring you," Katz told the dog.

Courage agreed with Katz and with the plate in paws and thanking the feline for opening the kitchen door for him, placed the plate on the dining table. Katz headed for the front of the house, and Courage followed him. Le Quack sat on the front porch covered with newspaper and Weremole sniffed at the seeds and pumpkin guts.

Cajun walked out while rubbing at his head. "Pick your pumpkin. I brought plenty of knives for each of us."

Each one started on their pumpkin, except for Weremole, who just stared at his.

"Here, let me help." Courage offered.

The dog cut open the top and scooped out all the seeds and insides for Weremole. When Courage finished, Weremole continued staring at the pumpkin then took a bite out of it. Courage grimace as the feral mole spat the shell and flesh out.

"Well, that's one way to carve a pumpkin," Cajun commented

Courage looked closely and saw the fox was right. Weremole had managed to gouge out two eyes, a nose, and a mouth out of the pumpkin. The dog went to work on his pumpkin when he heard Le Quack chuckle, followed by a small explosion.

"Watch it!" Katz hissed as he brushed off bits of the pumpkin off his arm.

"It is nice, no?" Le Quack asked, showing off his pumpkin, which had smoke swirling out the face the duck somehow was able to blow out without destroying the pumpkin itself. Courage was impressed.

Courage went back to his pumpkin and looked up only when Cajun declared his jack-o-lantern done. He had given it evil eyes and a wicked jagged smile. Courage thought it was good and noticed that Katz didn't touch his pumpkin.

"You're not going to carve your pumpkin?" Courage asked the cat.

"I do not find it fun," Katz answered.

"You don't like Halloween, huh?" Courage said.

"I enjoyed it when I was a kitten — dressing up as something else to scheme people for candy. But as I grew older, it lost its magic. It became tedious." Katz explained.

Le Quack chuckled. "I used to con other children out of their bags of candy."

That was terrible!

"I enjoyed the parties! The food and activities." Cajun inputted.

Weremole never celebrated the holiday, so he didn't have much to say.

"What about you, pup?" Cajun asked.

"We never really celebrated it. Muriel would make something special on this day, but I never went trick-or-treating. Unless you count going into stores that gave out candy for free." Courage answered.

"Well, what about with your parents?" Cajun questioned.

Courage's ears drooped, and he looked dejected. "If they had, I don't remember. The earliest memory I can remember was of my parents when I lost them to a crazy veterinarian. He launched them into space on a rocket while I was a pup. He wanted to breed dogs in outer space, which I still don't know why. I don't know if they're still alive or not to this day." He explained.

Courage didn't know why he decided to confine with the villains a bit of his past. He supposed it was because he saw them as a family and was becoming more relaxed around them. He noticed how quiet it was and looked up to see the villains staring intently at him.

"Oh, pup!" Cajun exclaimed, rushing over to Courage and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug, squeezing an "Urk!" out of the dog.

Weremole and Le Quack gave their condolences to the dog as well, and Katz stayed where he was. Cajun put Courage back down, and the dog was able to finish carving his jack-o-lantern. Crescent shaped eyes, a round nose, and a happy mouth.

"How cute," Cajun commented. "What about you, pussy cat?"

Katz ignored the fox and walked into the house.

"That's rude." huffed Cajun.

Courage thought Cajun was right, but he also knew Katz being a cat can be aloof. Le Quack and Weremole went off to do their own thing, leaving Cajun and Courage alone. Cajun not wanting to let the pumpkin go to waste, carved up Katz's pumpkin.

"Do you think Katz would look this if he were a lot less serious?" Cajun asked as he showed the dog the pumpkin.

Cajun carved a smiling cat face into the last pumpkin. Cat ears were even cut into the orange gourd. Courage then helped carry the knives into the kitchen when he and Cajun cleaned up the mess on the front porch.

"Don't worry about washin' 'em pup. I got it." Cajun informed Courage.

"Are you sure?" Courage asked.

"Yup. Plus, I owe washin' yer dishes for scarin' ya." Cajun told him.

Courage thanked Cajun and not knowing what else to do until everyone was ready to watch the movies, the dog went up to the attic. He stopped in the doorway when he caught sight of Katz sitting at the computer. Courage carefully strolled over to the feline. "Katz?" he called softly.

Katz looked up at Courage as the dog got closer, then he did something that Courage didn't expect. Katz pulled the dog into a hug. Courage was utterly speechless, and unlike Cajun's bone-crushing embrace, Katz's hug was gentler. He wished he understood what the cat was thinking. He also wanted Katz to show him more of this side of him. Katz released his hold and stared intently at Courage.

The only thing Courage could think of saying was, "Thank you, Katz."

Katz nodded and asked, "When will the movie marathon start?"

"After breakfast or lunch? Cajun didn't specify." Courage answered.

Katz let out a sigh. "Let us go and ask the fox."

Both made the trek down to the main floor, and as soon they walked into the dining room, they heard noises in the kitchen. Feeling terror welling up in him, Courage hung back behind Katz as he pushed the kitchen door open. Looking from behind Katz's legs, the dog watched as Cajun hand both paws clamped around a pumpkin on his head as he stumbled about the kitchen.

Katz had a cross look on his face, and as he placed his paws on his hips he said, "It wasn't funny the first time you did that, what makes you think it would be funny the second time?"

"I'm not doing it this time! The thing just came in and chomped down on my head!" was Cajun's garbled answer as he tried to pull the pumpkin off his head and walked into the kitchen table.

Letting out a loud gasp of alarm, ran over to Cajun, grabbed hold of the pumpkin, he pulled Cajun down to the floor with him and tugged as hard as he could on the pumpkin.

"Easy! Easy!" yelped Cajun.

With a mighty tug, Courage removed the pumpkin off the fox's head. Cajun fell on his back, and Courage stumbled backward before catching his balance. The pumpkin wiggled in Courage's arms then it turned to face the dog. Courage's eyes widen in horror as the jack-o-lantern opened its mouth wide, snarled at him, and reached out to him with vines.

"Aaaaaaaah!" Courage screamed, eyes popping out. Red paws took the pumpkin from Courage's hands, and Katz threw the pumpkin away. The dog winced when he heard glass shattering.

"I think our pumpkins are alive and hungry," Cajun groaned, rubbing his head.

After catching a breather, Courage asked, "Where are Le Quack and Weremole?"

Right on cue, Le Quack waddled into the kitchen, his mallet on his shoulder with pieces of pumpkin pulp dripping off it. Cajun stifled a snort as they could see Le Quack's backside was missing his tail feathers.

"I am, how do you say, not amused." Le Quack said with a vexed look on his face.

"What happened to you?" Cajun asked, still trying not to laugh.

"The pumpkin snuck up and tried to eat me. It took my feathers as I tried to get it off." Le Quack answered, looking directly at Cajun and held his mallet menacingly. Cajun got the hint.

A pumpkin came bouncing in, stopped in front of the group, and began shaking to and fro. Courage shook and bit at his claws as the three villains watched ready to attack if the pumpkin went for any of them. What they didn't expect was for it to explode into pieces with Weremole bursting out with a vicious snarl.

"It's like something out of an alien movie!" Cajun screamed as he threw himself onto Katz.

Katz glared at the fox and tried to shove him off. "It's only Weremole," he stated as said feral mole shook his body to get pumpkin out his fur.

"How is that's not worst?!" Cajun challenged.

While the villains were busy talking, the jack-o-lantern thrown out the window met up with one of the other jack-o-lanterns, and together they gathered seeds from the trashcan and planted the seeds nearby. The jack-o-lantern Courage made walked over on vine feet with the watering can and poured it on the packed ground. Vines and pumpkins grew out of the field rapidly, and the jack-o-lanterns started making slices into several of the pumpkins.

"What about the other pumpkins?" Le Quack inquired.

"One's out there," Cajun said, jabbing his thumb in the direction Katz threw it. "And the last two should be out in the front."

Pumpkins began climbing in through the open window and broke down the door. Courage and the villains screamed at the sight. They made a run for it. Or at least Courage, after picking up the four villains, made a run for it through the rooms downstairs and seeing more jack-o-lanterns coming into the living room, ran up the stairs to the attic. After slamming the door shut with a foot, Courage dropped the villains and took a breather.

"Ah. . ."

Courage looked up to see the villains staring at the cat pumpkin Cajun made. It stared back with its smiling face, and Courage relaxed, thinking it was harmless. Then its face morphed into a snarling face and clamped down onto Katz's leg. Katz's fur puffed up and started kicking at the thing.

"Someone get this blasted thing off my leg!" he growled.

Katz should've been careful with what he asked for. Le Quack brought his mallet down on the pumpkin, destroying it. Luckily Katz was quick enough to avoid having his foot injured.

"What now?" Cajun asked.

"I think the better question to ask is where did those pumpkins came from," Katz said as he examined his leg.

Courage piped up. "There was a sticker on the pumpkins that said the military grew them."

"Figures." Katz sighed.

"What now?" Cajun asked.

They heard shrieking coming from outside. Looking out the window, Courage and the villains watched as the pumpkins began feasting on each other. To their horror, each time a pumpkin grew more prominent each time it ate one. When they finished, all was left were ten pumpkins left, all of them in different sizes, but one noticeably larger. They watched as the pumpkins got together to form a body almost as big as the house.

"Oh, great. Now we must deal with a giant evil pumpkin version of a snowman," muttered Cajun.

Courage pulled a polaroid camera out from a pocket and snapped a quick picture. Once the photo developed, he scanned it and got on the computer. He ignored the others gathering around him to watch as he attached the photo to an email he was preparing to send to the military.

"You're bringing the army here?!" Le Quack screamed.

"I didn't know what else to do." defend Courage.

Katz pinched the bridge of his nose. "What we need to do is think of a way to defeat that thing before it kills us or before the military shows up."

Weremole snarled at them.

"Weremole is correct. The pumpkin I smashed is not doing much." Le Quack stated.

"So, all we have to do is smash that thing to kill it," Cajun concluded.

"It'll take more than us hitting it with weapons to destroy it," Katz stated.

Courage thought on it and said, "We could destroy it if we had explosives. . ."

One by one, heads turned to look at Le Quack. The duck looked at each individual and said, "I may have a case. . . or two. . . or five of TNT and a couple of barrels of explosives in the barn."

"What are they doing in the barn?" Cajun asked.

"The cat did not want me storing them in the basement like I wanted to." Le Quack explained.

"Really?" Cajun asked, turning his attention to Katz.

"Forgive me for not wanting cases of volatile explosives going off and destroying the farmhouse and possibly us with it just by being tapped or jostled." Katz huffed.

"Well, thank you for thinking about our well-being, but it's not gonna help us with our situation now, is it?" Cajun said.

The house shook and looking out the window; Courage saw the pumpkin creature searching for them.

"Guys!" he called out to get the other's attention. "I'll distract the thing, and you go get the TNT and set it somewhere so we can destroy it."

"Why does it have to be us?" Cajun asked out of curiosity.

"Because I've been running around all my life, making me quick enough to outrun it, and you're villains and know how to blow things up?" Courage answered.

"He has a point." Le Quack stated.

"We'll have to lure it away from the house. At the very least, from the windmill, since I'm sure none of us want those vandals to show up again." Katz proposed.

The window smashed open as vines wiggled their way into the room. They all screamed, and out the door, they went.

Courage bolted ahead of the villains down both flights of stairs and out the back door. He stopped as the pumpkin creature still felt its way around the room, and the dog called out, "Hey!"

The pumpkin looked down at the dog and screamed at him. Courage screamed back and took off. He felt the ground shook with every step the creature took after him. Courage took the thing out in the desert and realized that in his haste, he forgot to ask how he would know where the villains were going to set up their trap. As the two ran around the vast stretch of desert, Courage was starting to get winded as the sun pounded mercilessly down on him.

The dog was starting to slow, and he wished he had a dirt bike. He felt the creature take a swipe at him, and with a startled cry, Courage pumped his legs harder. Up ahead, he saw TNT and other explosive barrels piled into a giant mound, and he was heading right towards it. How was he going to escape the creature before running headlong into it? Turning away would only bring the beast with him. Courage's brain worked hard on what to do when the ground under him crumbled, and he fell into a hole.

"Oof!" Courage cried out as he landed on his rump. He realized he wasn't alone as Weremole was in the hole with him. The ground shook as the pumpkin creature ran past, and then it shook more violently as a loud explosion rend the air.

When it was all quiet, Courage and Weremole climbed out of the hole to see how it went with the pumpkin creature. They saw a giant smoking crater with large pieces of the pumpkins splattered every and other pieces raining down.

"Maybe we overdid it with the explosives." Cajun mused.

"Better with the overkill than under kill, no?" Le Quack asked.

They heard sirens and turning towards the source saw vehicles approaching. The cars stopped nearby, and Courage recognized the General as he stepped out.

"I say, we heard the explosion and came this way. Are you the ones that sent that email about the pumpkins?" the General inquired. Courage nodded. "Where is the pumpkin creature?"

Courage, worried about the villains, but more importantly, Le Quack, turned back to look at them and saw that Weremole wasn't in sight, and Cajun and Le Quack were wearing fake mustaches and Katz rubbed at his temple.

"Take a look around," Cajun said, indicating the destroyed mess around them.

"Right." the General glanced at the soldier standing next to him who nodded, turned towards the other soldiers standing nearby, and made a hand gesture. The soldiers pulled out shovels and began shoveling up the mess.

"I do apologize for any grievance you all experienced, gentlemen." the General apologized. "We were trying out a new way of growing pumpkins; we didn't expect something like this to happen."

"Shocking," Katz muttered under his breath.

"Well, we'll take care of things here, you civilians can be on your way." the General informed them.

"What about the other pumpkins bought?" Courage asked.

"We'll look into it and pull the pumpkins out the stores."

Dismissed, Courage and the others headed back home. Seeing the mess, the pumpkins made, they all worked together to clean it all up, getting rid of the smashed pumpkins they managed to take out.

"This house is going to reek of pumpkins for days," Cajun commented.

Cajun and Katz boarded up the broken windows as Courage swept up the broken glass. It was late in the day when they were finished cleaning their house and were able to eat anything. Fortunately, there were leftovers from the previous night they were able to eat.

"And you said we would never eat the leftovers." Cajun boasted to Katz.

The cat tsked in response.

They ate the leftovers while Weremole went hunting for rabbits and soon after went to watch their movies. Everyone settled into their spots except Le Quack took the rocking chair, and Courage sat with Katz in the armchair. Courage was speechless as to why Katz allowed him to sit with him but didn't much time to ponder more on it as Cajun put the first movie on. Most of the films had Courage covering his eyes or covering his ears. It was the tense music that did it, and every time he did, Katz would scratch him behind an ear.

Movie after movie and snack after snack made the rest of the go by, most of the popcorn and candy ended up on the floor by Cajun cheering whenever the villain caught their prey or by Courage when he jumped from a jump scare. They had all fallen asleep before the last film ended. Cajun was sprawled out on the floor, sleeping with his mouth wide open, Weremole slept on his side, snoring loudly, Le Quack had his beak tucked under a wing, and Courage lay asleep on Katz's lap.

Not even one was aware of the ghostly visitors they had.

"Is that a lovely sight?" Muriel asked with a smile on her face.

"Who cares about that, Muriel! I want the stupid cat and stupid dog out of my chair!" Eustace snapped and reached out for Katz. His hands passed through Katz, and each time the cat's brows would crease, and his tail would twitch in agitation.

"Oh, Eustace." Muriel scowled with her hands on her hips. "You're dead. You don't need your chair anymore."

Eustace grumbled as he worked harder to get the cat out of his chair. Muriel smiled again at Courage, but it was a sad smile. "Oh, Courage. I worried about what would happen to you the day Eustace and I would pass. I'm sorry we left you alone suddenly, but I'm so happy to see you have new friends now."

Muriel had been appalled when she discovered four of the six villains Eustace called upon to kill Courage was living with him. She was going to find a way to kick them out of the house. Still, Muriel became at ease after seeing the house intact, save for the windows boarded up. Looking closely at Courage, she saw there were no injuries the dog was well-fed and not only cared for but relaxed around them to sleep without worrying about any of them attacking him. And she could see he was content the way Courage snuggled in the cat's lap and the paw resting on the dog's back was relaxed and not holding down or the like.

Muriel pet Courage's head and continued. "Remember that I'll always love you, my Courage." she placed a kiss on his forehead.

Courage stirred from his sleep. "Muriel?" he whispered.

He glanced around the room, sure that he didn't imagine it as the grandfather clock near the stairs announced it was midnight. He felt Katz's fingers ran through his fur.

"Were you dreaming?" Katz asked.

Courage supposed he was and nodded.

"I don't know about you, but I rather not sleep here and wake up with stiff joints," Katz told him.

Courage agreed and the two as quietly as can be headed up to their room.


	9. The Clutching Foot Who Brought Terror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **All Courage the Cowardly Dog character belongs to John Dilworth **
> 
> _I feel like I went off-topic at the start of this chapter before bringing the Clutching Foot in. . .maybe? Either way, I hope it isn't too confusing for my readers. Also, I will, on occasion, call Big Toe as the Clutching Foot since it's one of the other names he's called. I can't wait to start on the next chapter with the Black Puddle Queen._

Courage clutched the flyer tightly in his paws as he gathered the. . .well, courage, to ask Katz if they could go to the County Fair. It was always a Bagge tradition to go even if Eustace didn't enjoy it. Plus, Courage hadn't seen Scarecrow in a while, and it would be nice to see a familiar face. Swallowing hard, Courage crept over Katz.

"Katz?" Courage said. Katz looked away from his book to look at Courage. "The County Fair is happening right now, and I was wondering if we can go."

Courage waited for Katz to say speak, but before the feline could, Cajun seemingly popped in from out of nowhere, startling the dog. "The County Fair? It sounds like fun! I'll go with ya, Pup."

Courage supposed he could go with Cajun if Katz didn't want to go. Before Courage could say anything, Katz spoke up, "I have nothing better to do, so I will accompany you to the County Fair."

"Nah, it's okay, pussy cat. You seemed so enthralled with your book that Pup and I can go by ourselves." Cajun insisted.

"That's the thing about books. You can put them aside and come back to them another time. You would know this if you read a book other than a cookbook." Katz countered as he closed his book and set it on the table.

Courage could feel the tension in the air, and he was curious to know why Katz and Cajun couldn't get along. He was sure it was more than clashing personalities.

"I want to bring along Le Quack and Weremole," Katz stated as he got up from his chair.

"Why?" Cajun inquired.

"I don't trust to leave Le Quack alone at the farmhouse, and I don't want Weremole to eat someone he shouldn't," Katz answered.

It wasn't hard finding Weremole and Le Quack. Weremole was, of course, was outside in what Cajun had dubbed Weremole's den. Weremole didn't have anything better to do, or so he said. Courage was sure that Weremole didn't have any rabbits to eat and no doubt wanted to eat someone, and Le Quack was down in the basement working on a new scheme. Le Quack was reluctant to come along but really didn't have a choice in the matter. Much like he didn't have a choice in where to sit.

When Courage opened the truck door, Le Quack hopped in and got settled, but Katz insisted, quite forcefully, that Courage sat in front, leaving Le Quack to sit in the back with Weremole. As soon they arrived at the fair and Katz parked the truck, Courage jumped out after Cajun, who was laughing at the fluffy state Le Quack turned out from riding in the back.

Courage spotted Scarecrow getting ready to operate the hayride, he turned to Katz and said, "I'll be right back." and walked over to Scarecrow.

Scarecrow looked up, saw a familiar face, and smiled. "Ah, Courage! It's been a while." He looked over to the truck and frowned. "Were are Muriel and her husband?"

Courage's ears drooped. "They died. . . months ago." Courage answered

Scarecrow's expression changed to one of sadness. "I'm sorry to hear that. How are you coping with their passing?" Scarecrow asked.

"I got some friends living with me and helping me out." Courage explained.

Scarecrow looked back at the villains and frowned. "They don't look. . . trustworthy," he said.

Courage smiled awkwardly. Scarecrow wasn't far from the truth. "Well, I trust them with my life." unlike in the past.

Scarecrow still wasn't sure, but if Courage and Muriel were willing to give him a second chance after what he had done to the Bagges, then he would trust the dog's judgment. Scarecrow smiled and said, "Well, I trust what you're doing. Don' be a stranger if you need anything at all. I also hope you have fun at the fair."

"Thanks, Scarecrow." Courage said, waved goodbye, and joined Katz and the others again.

"Who's that?" Cajun asked.

"That's Scarecrow. We met him in the cornfield last year. He was sad because he wasn't scary enough, so he believed becoming bad was the way to become scary. He tried to protect Muriel from Eustace and me. He locked down the house, set up traps, turned the basement into a panic room, and locked Muriel in there." Courage explained.

They looked over at Scarecrow, driving the hayride. "He don't look big and tough now," Cajun commented.

"After I rescued Muriel, I tried driving us away, but he chased us into a cornfield. Crows weren't afraid of him, so I got other crows to attack him. Muriel and I forgave him for meaning well and got him a job here." Courage finished.

"You are too nice, doggy." Le Quack told Courage as he walked past him.

"Ain't a bad thing," Cajun said as he followed after the duck.

Katz glanced down at Courage and inquired, "What do you want to do first?"

That was an easy answer. The first thing Courage wanted to do was ride the carousel. It was by his definition safer than the other rides, he did enjoy the Ferris wheel, but even the thought of him stopping at the top and the bar meant to keep him locked in breaking off and falling to his death usually left him with a death grip on the bar. So here was Courage, riding on the carousel giddy with laughter as the ride went round and round.

After the ride finished, Cajun had managed to convince Courage to ride the roller coaster with him lucky for Courage; it wasn't one of those tall coasters with a lot of loops. It still made the dog queasy after the ride ended. After wandering around with the villains looking at food and games, Cajun stopped at the dart booth. They watched the fox miss the balloons.

"You are, how you say? Bad at this." chuckled Le Quack.

"What a gyp! I hit that one balloon, and it didn't pop!" Cajun growled.

Le Quack continued chuckling at Cajun's misfortune, and Courage was sure he heard Katz chuckle softly too. Moving on, Courage stopped at the booth with the fishes. He did enjoy getting a fish and always gotten one every time he came to the fair.

Before Courage could hand over money to booth operator, Cajun spoke up, "You're gonna get a fish? Ain't ya worried about pussy cat here eatin' it in the middle of the night?"

Katz glared at Cajun, and Courage knew that the feline was planning to cause the fox harm. As the booth operator handed Courage the ping pong balls, he knew what he had to do to defuse the situation. Courage threw the balls haphazardly at the fishbowls until they were all thrown.

"Bad luck, Pup." Cajun sympathized.

"At least he didn't get ripped off as you did," Katz said with a smirk.

"Oh, haha, go ahead and laugh at my pain." Cajun sniffed then picked Courage up. "Pup and I are gonna drown our sorrow in sweets."

"But. But. . ." Courage began protesting, not wanting to leave Katz, Le Quack, and Weremole behind.

"It'll be fine, Pup. They'll follow us. At least Katz will not want to see me get ya into trouble." Cajun reassured Courage.

Courage resigned to his current fate and looked over his shoulder to see the others were indeed following after them. Cajun set Courage down near the funnel cake stand and ordered one for himself,

"What about you, Pup? Do ya want a funnel cake?" Cajun asked. Courage had his eyes set on the cotton candy stand nearby. Seeing this, Cajun paid for his funnel cake and bought a cotton candy for Courage. Le Quack bought a donut for himself, they sat on a bench and watched Weremole sniff the ground before rushing towards the cornfield. They watched the stalks rustle and heard a squeal followed by a snarl.

"Guess Weremole found himself lunch," Cajun observed.

Courage bit into the cotton candy and perceived that Katz wasn't with them.

"Where's Katz?" Courage asked Le Quack.

"No idea." Le Quack retorted.

Courage's brows furrowed as he puzzled over where Katz has gone to. Could he have gotten bored or tired and went back to the truck? It was a possibility. Courage finished his cotton candy and was licking the remnants off the paper cone when Katz came strolling over to the group. Courage glimpsed something in Katz's paw.

The feline stopped in front of Courage, and holding the object out to him said, "Here."

Courage eyed the item in Katz's paws and saw it was a small goldfish plushie. Katz cleared his throat and stated, "I suspect you wanted to get one of those goldfishes greatly, and I'm sure you would want one to feed and watch, but this is the only solution I could think of where you won't have to suffer heartbreak when it does. And you can cuddle with it when you're asleep. . ."

"Where did ya get it?" Cajun asked.

"At the ring toss booth. It wasn't hard landing them onto the pegs." Katz said with a shrug.

Courage focused his attention more on Katz's face than the exchanging happening between him and Cajun. Courage was sure that Katz was abashed about getting the plushie for him. But why did Katz have to be abashed about doing something kind for him? Courage couldn't figure Katz out. He seemed to switch between being aloof to being kindhearted towards him but still act cold towards the other villains.

Not wanting to be rude and appreciating the gesture, Courage said to Katz, "Than you, Katz."

Katz almost smiled, but it never made it on his face because of Cajun. "So now that you won Pup a prize, does that make ya both boyfriends?" he inquired.

The animosity in the air was very heavy, and Le Quack hurried away from the fox. Katz tossed the goldfish at Courage. He fumbled with it until he was able to catch it. Katz, in the meantime, stomped over to Cajun his paw shot out and gripped the fox's throat. A strangled sound wheezed its way out his mouth as he clawed at Katz's tight grip. Katz ignored Cajun as he dragged the fox over to the high striker game, he slammed Cajun against the long narrow frame and the fox clutched his throat as he coughed and wheezed as Katz slowly sauntered away.

"What is your problem?! Can't ya take a joke?!" barked Cajun.

Katz ignored Cajun as he grabbed the hammer out of the startled high striker operator's hand and swung it down onto the lever. The puck shot up, taking Cajun with it, and his head slammed against the bell at the top. Courage had followed after Katz and gasped aloud when he witnessed what he did to Cajun and hurried over to where the fox fell.

"Cajun? Are you okay?" he asked, and Cajun answered back with a pained groan. Courage turned his attention to Katz and said, "That wasn't very nice, Katz. Why do you always have to be so mean to Cajun?"

Katz stared at Courage, scoffed, and handed the hammer back to the operator. Courage sighed as Katz walked off, sure he was heading for the truck. What had started as a nice day ended in misery as Courage and Le Quack helped the injured Cajun back to the truck with Weremole trailing behind. Katz was already sitting in the truck sulking. After the rest of the party got into the truck, they were heading back home.

The running engine was the only sound rending the air. Having recovered a little from Katz did to him, Cajun stared out the window.

"Thanks for the head injury," Cajun growled.

"If you can string together words into a sentence, you're fine." Katz retorted.

Courage was getting anxious and hoped Cajun didn't say anything to push Katz more. When the farmhouse came into sight, Courage noticed that Katz was slowly the truck to a halt far from the house. Peering up at Katz, Courage saw the cat's eyes narrowed as he seemingly glared at the farmhouse. Stretching as high as his tiny legs could stretch, Courage glanced over the dashboard, and his eyes widened at the giant hole where the front door once was.

"Why does it look like someone blew the door in?" Cajun asked.

"Do we have a robber in the house?" Le Quack inquired, looking through the window.

Courage let out a gasp. The table holding Muriel and Eustace's ashes. Did it get ruined from the possible explosion?

"Oh no." he whimpered.

Courage scampered over Cajun's lap, worked the door open, jumped out, and hurried towards the house, the villains' calls to wait or to come back falling on deaf ears. Heart pounding, Courage rushed over to the table, ignoring the debris on the floor. Courage climbed onto the chair set near the table, and after checking the contents on the table heaved out a sigh. Other than a few shards of wood and one picture frame knocked over and the rest seemingly out of place, nothing was really disturbed.

"Courage!" Katz snapped, resulting in the dog turning in Katz's direction. Katz walked over to Courage and said, "Please don't go rushing off into danger like that!"

"Why? I've done it plenty of times." Courage reminded him.

Katz was about to reply, but a noise in the kitchen halted it. The villains headed for the kitchen, and Courage followed after them. Katz opened the door; they entered and stopped short, and Courage looked around Katz's legs, and his jaw dropped. Big Toe and the other four toes looked up from the meal on the floor.

Katz, of course, saw a mess on what was once a clean floor and the refrigerator door wide open. He could about feel his eye twitch.

The Clutching Foot looked up at them all, and Big Toe asked, "What?" followed by a chorus of "Yeah, what?"

Surprisingly it was Cajun that spoke up in anger. "What? What?! Your eating what I was planning on making for dinner! And you left the fridge door wide open! Your gonna spoil everything inside!" Cajun slammed the door shut. He opened the freezer door and fished for the ice cube tray and headed over to the counter. Courage walked around the Clutching Foot to help Cajun.

"What are you doing here, Big Toe?" Le Quack asked.

"We needed to do lay low, see?" Big Toe answered, followed by, "Yeah, lay low."

"Lay low from what?" Cajun asked as he placed the ice pack on top of his head.

"We did a heist, see? And this is the only place we could think of to hide out, see?" Big Toe answered. The Clutching Foot stomped over to bag near the table and grabbing the end of the pack with his teeth, tipped out the contents inside. Gemstones of various sizes and values and three statues of different height tumbled on the floor. Le Quack plucked one of the gems off the floor and examined it closely.

Cajun whistled. "That's a lot of rocks."

Courage picked up one of the statues and inquired, "What are you going to do with them?"

"Sell 'em, see?" Big Toe answered.

"Well, I hope you plan on cleaning this mess you so graciously made and fix the gaping hole out front." Katz hissed.

"Me and the boys can lick the floor clean, see? But we gonna need some help with the wall, see?" Big Toe informed the cat.

One of Katz's eyes twitched at 'lick the floor clean.' He heaved out a sigh, pivot, and walked out of the kitchen. Everyone watched the cat go, but it was Courage who went after Katz.

"Katz? Where are you going?" He interrogated as he followed Katz out of the giant hole.

"Away from here before I do something I may regret," Katz answered back.

"When will you be back?" Courage questioned further.

He received no answer as Katz slammed the truck door shut and drove off. Courage whined softly. All he wanted was a lovely day at the County Fair with Katz, but when that didn't happen, he hoped Katz's mood would improve when they got home, but no such luck. With a sigh, Courage looked at the destroyed wall and knew at least one way to make Katz feel better.

Katz returned quite late that night. Driving didn't settle his anger, especially since Di Lung almost drove into him. And Di Lung shouting, "Watch where you're goin', ya fool!" as he drove off in the opposite direction had Katz digging his claws into the steering wheel. Katz headed to the one place where he could, at the very least, feel better, his motel where his spiders still reside.

Being with his spiders did give Katz a little peace of mind, and he had come across someone vandalizing his once precious motel. . .and well, no one is going to miss one human. Katz certainly won't. After seeing his spiders, Katz went to his new club, Klub Katz. He quite liked the name that he decided to use it again since the last time he used it was on an island that very few people came across. Now Katz was home, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Katz was pleased to see the hole fixed, and a new door put up as he walked into the living room. The only one Katz could see still awake at this hour was Cajun. The fox sat in the rocking chair, looking bored as he flipped through the channels.

Katz took a step towards the stairs when Cajun spoke up, "There's a plate in the oven for ya if ya haven't eaten yet."

"I'm stunned that you saved me some dinner," Katz replied.

Cajun scoffed. "I wouldn't not after what ya did to me, and even if I were 'kind' enough to do so, I would do something get my vengeance on ya. But Pup insisted we saved dinner for ya and made sure I didn't over spice it."

That was considerate of Courage. Katz glanced around the room and commented, "I see the Clutching Foot cleaned up the house."

"Nah, the only thing the Clutching Foot did was lick the kitchen floor clean." Katz made a disgusted face. "But, Pup mopped the kitchen floor, swept the floor in here, tidied up, and fixed the wall."

The anger in Katz began rising again. "You made Courage clean up all by himself?" Katz asked slowly.

"I ain't that heartless. At least to Pup, I ain't anymore. And since Pup's short, I helped fix the parts he couldn't reach and help put in the door." Cajun told the feline.

Lucky for the fox, Katz doesn't have to wring his neck. "Why are you up? You're usually asleep by this time?" Katz inquired, trying to be a little bit civil to the fox.

"The Clutching Foot decided to become roommates with me in the basement, and all five toes snores. Loudly." Cajun explained. "I may curl up on the couch and sleep there later. You're so lucky to sleep in a bed with Pup, who probably don't snore."

"Indeed." Katz agreed. "But he does have nightmares and will on occasion wake screaming from terror."

"Still better than constant loud snorin'." Cajun shot back.

Katz gave Cajun a rare smile and headed for the kitchen. Katz heated his dinner, ate alone, then washed and dried the dishes, putting them away, and headed for the stairs. He quietly entered the room and got into bed and looked over at Courage. Katz was sure he felt his heart skip a beat when he spotted the fish plushie he got for Courage cradled in his arms. A red paw reached out to touch the sleeping dog but drew back. Katz laid down and fell asleep.

The next morning was pretty average, save for the new addition, or addition in the farmhouse. Once Courage was awake and had gone down to the kitchen for breakfast, Cajun asked if he could help make breakfast seeing how there are now five more mouths to feed. Courage was more than happy to help. The whole tome, Courage could feel Katz leering at them, and not only did it make him uncomfortable, but he wasn't sure what they did to deserve it.

Breakfast went along fine and without any disastrous result. Around lunchtime was a different matter. It came to Courage's attention that Katz was reading the same newspaper, which, in his countless hours of observation, knew he was still feeling moody. Hoping that making the cat another cup of tea would cheer him up, Courage headed for the kitchen. Once he stepped inside, he spotted Cajun at the sink, and something was. . .off. The fox had his back to Courage, and he could hear Cajun slowly run a knife sharpener over a blade.

Courage fidget in his spot, not wanting to get close to Cajun to use the stove. He jumped when Cajun spoke. "Ah, Courage. I'm glad you're here."

Cajun's voice sent chills down Courage's spine, and after swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he asked, "A-are you getting ready to make lunch?" Courage didn't have a clue as to why Cajun was making him so nervous.

The sound of the knife sharpener stopped abruptly, "Why yes, Courage." cooed Cajun as he set the sharpener down on the counter then spun around. "And you're to be the main course!"

Cajun laughed a malicious laugh as he held up the now sharpen gleaming meat cleaver. Courage made a good impression of a fluff ball as he screamed and ran out of the kitchen swiftly, leaving the door swinging in his wake. Courage rushed over to Katz as the cat peeked over his newspaper.

"Dear boy, what has gotten you into a state of terror now?" he inquired.

Courage hopped in place as he tried to explain through his babble about what transpired in the kitchen. As Courage finished his tale, Cajun walked biting into a carrot.

"What's all the screamin' about?" he asked. Courage belted out another scream and ran out the front door. "Was it somethin' I said?" Cajun asked.

Katz didn't answer. Instead, he got out of his chair and strode over to Cajun as he rolled the newspaper up. He proceeded to whack the fox on the head with the paper. Cajun yelped and tried to defend himself with the carrot.

"What did I do this time?!" demanded Cajun.

"Courage informed me that you were going to cook him for lunch." hissed Katz.

"What?! What insanity is this?" Cajun wondered.

"Are you going to deny it?" Katz interrogated.

"Of course, I am! First off, none of my recipes call for a dog of any kind, seein' how they are a distant relative of mine, it feels a bit like cannibalism to me. And second, I was out in the garden harvestin' some of the crops for lunch." Cajun defended and held up the carrot as evidence. "So either Pup is lyin', or there's two of me, and the second one is a lot more murderous than me."

"I hope you have a doppelganger because I would have to hurt you very badly if you tried to hurt Courage in any way." Katz threatened.

"Story of my life," Cajun grumbled and took another bite out of the carrot.

Courage was trying his best to hide, but it was pretty tough when he couldn't stop shaking, which in turn caused the bucket to rattle. He couldn't understand the villains. Courage thought they were no longer trying to kill him. But after the thing with Cajun in the kitchen, he soon had Weremole to contend with, the feral creature chased him around the house, his teeth gnashing until Courage took refuge in the barn.

And as Courage tried to catch his breath from all that running, Le Quack showed up, lit a bomb he had, thrown it in, and locked the doors on Courage.

Courage fumbled around for the bomb, quite glad that not only was light coming from the loft door, but the lit wick on the bomb helped him find it and put it out before it exploded. Lunch was tense for him as he sat very close to Katz, hoping the cat didn't mind, which he didn't seem to as he didn't say anything to it or tried to push the dog away. That seemed to lure Courage into a false sense of relaxation. Courage decided to take a bath after lunch to help calm himself further. He presumed Katz didn't like him sitting close to him. The cat had entered the bathroom, and when Courage asked him what he was doing there, Katz proceeded to grab the dog by the top of his head and attempted to drown him in the tub.

Courage thrashed about until he was successful in getting out of Katz's grip. He gasped for air, and as Katz reached for him again, Courage whimpered as he scrambled out of the tub. His wet paws made it difficult for Courage to open the door, but Katz approaching gave him the incentive, and he tore the door open and ran out. Tears pricked Courage's eyes as he wondered why now after the villains have been living with him, they decided to try and kill him. He thought they changed after he saved them countless times, and they rescued him once.

Villains will never change; it seemed. Determine not to stay around when the Clutching Foot decides it's his turn to go after him; Courage peeked from his hiding place and seeing no one in sight took haste running from the farm with no destination in mind. The dog ran until he was close to collapsing, being out in the burning sun until he spotted a familiar object approaching quickly. When Courage arrived, panting and sweating, he found himself at Shirley's wagon. He hesitated to climb the step and seeing if Shirley was home. Would she attack him as the villains have?

Courage didn't have time to ponder further, the door open and Shirley appeared.

"Ah, Courage. It's been a long time since we last met. Come in and have some tea with me." Shirley offered.

Not only was Courage parched, but he couldn't say no to the gypsy without the possibility of incurring her wrath. He hopped onto the step and walking into her wagon, which felt a lot cooler than outside. Courage sat at the table as Shirley prepared the tea and set the cups down.

"Thank you." Courage said, taking the drink and gulping it down.

"You're welcome," Shirley replied and took a sip from hers. "How are your Muriel and the stupid one doing?"

Courage with a sigh set the glass down and told the gypsy in detail about their passing months ago.

Shirley listened to Courage's story and feeling commiserating for the pink dog said, "I'm sorry for your loss, Courage. If you ever wish to communicate with your Muriel or the stupid one, don't hesitate to seek me out. I'll charge you a small sum for it."

Courage smiled and felt a little calm. "Thank you, Shirley," he replied.

Shirley nodded in response then asked a question that made Courage tense up, "Have you been living all alone?"

Courage shook his head. He explained that some villains he encountered in his past came to live with him for one reason or another. How the months that followed, they never once tried to harm him and how they ever saved him from a water creature that was similar to the Black Puddle Queen, but all that seemed to have changed today.

"I just don't understand." Courage whined. "We were living happily, then all of a sudden, they tried to kill me today." Katz's trying to drown him hurt Courage the most.

Shirley was ready to come up with some curses to help Courage out, but first, she needed more details before she could start. "Has anything changed recently?" she inquired.

"Well, the Clutching Foot arrived yesterday. He wanted a place to lay low because he had just robbed a place and stolen a couple of gemstones and three golden statues." Courage answered.

Shirley seemed to perk at the mention of the three statues. She got up from the table and rummaged around the contents in her trunk. Once she found what she was looking for, Shirley brought it over to the table.

"These statues, Did one of them look like this?" she questioned as she set the worn paper on the table.

Courage scanned the drawing and gasped. It looked exactly like one of the statues that the Clutching Foot had stolen.

"Yes, one of the statues look like that." Courage answered.

"Well, the good news is that none of your new questionable friends were trying to kill you," Shirley explained.

It was like a terrible weight on Courage lifted only for a new one to settle on the dog.

"What's the bad news?" he asked because there is always bad news.

"The bad news is that your friends are possibly in danger," Shirley told him.

"What?" Courage squeaked.

"A spirit lives in the statue. The spirit strives on terror and will take on the form or something or someone the person is afraid of." Shirley explained.

"Except for the Clutching Foot, I've been living with the villains for months. It doesn't explain why it took the forms of Katz, Cajun, Le Quack, and Weremole." Courage stated.

"Maybe you're still afraid of them subconsciously." Shirley offered.

It could be. Courage has seen Katz angry plenty of times and seen him take it out on Cajun most of those times.

"Why would the villains be in danger? There's nothing they're afraid of." Courage said.

"Anyone would be afraid of being eaten," Shirley answered.

Courage almost spilled his tea. "What?" he whispered.

"This spirit eats those it terrorizes. Which was lucky for you when you ran away." Shirley said.

"Oh, no." Courage whined. He needed to go back and save his frie- no his family. He finished the tea and quickly said, "Thank you for the tea, Shirley." he hesitated and added, "How much do I owe you for the information?"

"Free of charge just this once," Shirley answered.

"Thank you again." Courage replied. He said his goodbyes to Shirley and took off back home, hoping all the way that he's not too late to save them.

Courage didn't notice the distance it took to get home being a fretting state the whole way. It felt quiet when he got home; the door squeaked open much too loud when he pushed it open. Courage's heart thudded hard as he walked into the house, and out of habit, Courage called out, "Katz? Cajun?"

He wasn't surprised when he didn't get a reply. Courage spotted the basement door slightly ajar, and with the knowledge that the villains were in danger, he made his way down the stairs. Halfway down, Courage heard an unfamiliar voice speak, "Hmmm, who to cook first? Not the giant foot, it'll be last. Hmmm, maybe the fox."

"Whoa, whoa. I already been cooked once. I have no desire to be cooked again." Cajun stated.

"And it's that fear of being cooked again is what will make you a delicious appetizer." the evil spirit tittered.

Courage hurried down the rest of the stairs, almost losing his footing twice and once in the basement found the villains tied up except for Weremole, who seemed to be locked in a chest. The chest shook around, and Courage could hear Weremole growling and hissing from inside. A cauldron similar to the one the villains chained Muriel over sat in the middle of the room, and a lovely woman carrying Cajun over her head strolled over to the cauldron.

"Can't we just order you some take out instead?" Cajun offered.

"Cajun fox stew sounds better." the spirit stated.

With a cry, Courage rushed over just as the spirit tossed the screaming fox into the cauldron. Courage leaped and tackled Cajun before he hit the bubbling liquid, and Courage skidded across the ground hard.

"Oh, Pup. I'm so thrilled to see you." Cajun said with a tiny frighten whimper.

"I'm amazed you came back." the spirit said.

"I couldn't let you eat the villains." Courage stated.

The spirit winced slightly at that. "Even after four of your friends tried to kill you?" the spirit inquired.

"I know now that it was you who took on the forms of Cajun, Katz, Le Quack, and Weremole and tried to kill and possibly eat me." Courage said.

"I told ya I wasn't tryin' to cook Pup!" Cajun hollered at Katz.

"Now is not the time for that." Katz hissed back.

"Such bravery. How I loathe it." sneered the spirit. "Luckily, your friends have their little fears that are keeping me from returning into my prison. Did you know the giant foot is afraid of you, dog? It fears you will lick it as you did once before. We already know one of the fox's fears, but the cat's fear is the juiciest I've ever tasted. Would you like to know what it is?"

Courage watched as Katz seemed to freeze at the spirit's words. "No, I don't care what Katz is afraid of. All I care about is saving them from you." Courage told the spirit.

"Even though you still fear them?" the spirit asked with a grin.

"What?" Cajun asked.

Courage could hear the hurt in Cajun's tone, and looking at the other villains staring back at him could see the pain in their eyes.

"You are still afraid even though we done nothing to you the whole time we've been here?" Le Quack asked.

Seeing the smug look on the spirit's face and knowing he had no way out of it, Courage confessed, "How can I not? You are all villains, you all done something terrible in one or another to Muriel or Eustace or both or me, and it's hard to forget when someone or something incurs Katz's wrath." a determined look crossed Courage's face as he stared into the spirit's eyes. "But the spirit refused to mention that I'm afraid of other things and other villains I encountered in the past, it just chose to take on your forms because it was convenient."

"You mean something like these?" the spirit asked. With a wave of its arm, the windmill vandals, the dummies, and the other creatures they encountered recently showed up.

Courage shook at the sight of them but kept his resolve as he continued. "They scare me, but they are are a lot less terrifying than the thought of losing my family to them."

A stun silence filled the basement. "Family? What family?" Le Quack wondered.

"You mean us?" Cajun asked.

"Yes. I never hesitated to save my loved ones from danger, and none of you are the exception. And I decided we were a family after you rescued from that creature." Courage admitted.

"Oh, Pup. I'd hug ya if I could." Cajun said, his tail wagging.

"Such a strange hodgepodge family this is." Le Quack stated.

"What about us?" Big Toe spoke up.

"As long as you don't try to take any of the others hostage to force me to do a heist or any other terrible thing to me, then you can be part of the family." Courage told him.

The previous villains disappeared as the spirit wailed. Courage and the villains turned towards the spirit as it doubled over, taking on the forms of four of them.

"That's unnerving," Cajun commented.

"You wretched little dog! Those positive emotions are like poison to me." the spirit hissed.

"No matter how many times someone or something comes and puts my family in danger, I will continue to face those things to save them." Courage promised.

"We'll do the same for you." Le Quack said.

"Yeah." Big Toe and the other four toes agreed.

The spirit let out a shriek and disappeared. Courage put the fire out the fire under the cauldron first then using his teeth gnawed through the ropes on Cajun since he was closer. Cajun let Weremole out of the chest as Courage freed the others.

"Now then, do you have any idea where that spirit came from?" Katz asked Courage.

"One of the gold statues is its prison." Courage answered.

Everyone turned towards the Clutching Foot. "How were we suppose to know, see?" Big Toe said.

"Yeah, how were we suppose to know?" the other four toes agreed.

"Well, take it back where you got it from," Cajun suggested.

"We can't see? They'll know it's us, see?" Big Toe said, followed by four, "Yeah."

"I'll take it back." Le Quack offered.

"Ain't ya worried about being arrested?" Cajun inquired.

"No prison can hold Le Quack." the duck stated.

"Make it quick," Katz said.

The Clutching Foot and Le Quack went back upstairs first to gather the stolen goods, and Cajun said to Courage, "I'm gonna make ya dumplings for dinner tonight."

"Yay." Courage cheered as his tail wagged.

Courage and Weremole were the next to go upstairs, and once they were gone, Cajun turned to Katz.

"So pussy cat, what are ya afraid of?" Cajun asked Katz.

Katz's ears flattened against his head as he narrowed his eyes at the fox. "Why should I tell you?" he questioned back.

"Fair's fair since you know my fears," Cajun stated.

"And I won't hesitate to light a fire under the cauldron again and make cajun fox stew." Katz countered.

Cajun held his paws up in defeat. "Okay, I get it. I won't ask again."

Cajun left, and after making sure he was all alone, Katz whispered, "What I fear is losing Courage to that fox."


	10. The Queen Who Saves Courage From Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth.**
> 
> _It seems that every time I write a chapter, I expect it to be short only to find it longer than expected. This chapter was going to be a Valentine's chapter initially, but since I couldn't come up with an idea to introduce the Black Puddle Queen, I decided to rearrange some chapters around. I plan on writing a Christmas chapter. . . *looks at calendar*, which means I'll have to hold off on writing a chapter for **Keeping Secrets** for the time being so I can get the Christmas chapter written on time as I don't want a repeat of the Halloween chapter._
> 
> _I also kept wanting to refer the Black Puddle Queen as the Black Widow Queen. I blame the spider for it. I also feel bad that I didn't give the Black Puddle Queen many speaking lines nor interaction with the others. I'll have to make that up in the next chapter._

"Oooh yeaah. That feels goooood, Pup." Cajun murmured.

It was shedding season for the furry occupants in the farmhouse, which was evident when fur of various colors began coating the floors. Le Quack and the Clutching Foot were out of the house; Courage had told them about the time he dug up the bones of a giant kangaroo monster, and how valuable they were. So, the two had headed off into the desert to dig up more bones to sell. Of course, those who remained at the house were sure that if they couldn't find any, then Le Quack being the con artist he is, will attempt to sell any regular bones they find out there.

Courage had found Cajun sitting on the front porch, struggling to reach his back with the brush. Understanding the strain of trying to brush his own back, Courage offered to brush the fur on Cajun's back for him. Courage would stop every now and then to pick out the clumps of hair from the brush's teeth and tried not to feel envious that Cajun's shed fur didn't come out loose as his did.

"Done." Courage announced once he was sure he got out all the tangles and knots, and there was no more loose fur.

"Thanks, Pup!" Cajun said and turned around to face the dog. "Let me brush your back for ya."

It's been a while since Courage had a proper brushing and wasn't about to turn it down himself. Turning, Courage waited for Cajun to begin. Once the fox did, Courage couldn't help but sigh as the brush went down his back in a slow, soothing motion that he couldn't help wagging his tail. Courage heard Cajun chuckle, but Courage didn't care, and he didn't care that a tangle got snagged as Cajun brushed it out.

"And you're done, Pup!" Cajun reported.

"Thanks, Cajun." Courage said. He was a little sad it ended, but he was also glad because his legs were starting to fall asleep, and Courage hated the sensation he gets when it happens.

Together, the two picked out the pink hair from the brush, and Cajun, in his cleverness, clumped the pink together to make a miniature Courage. Courage couldn't help giggle at Cajun's eccentric behavior. The little dog picked up the brush and headed inside as Cajun went to toss the fur that didn't get blown away by the breeze in the trash can out back.

Courage walked over to Katz sitting in the armchair, reading a new book, and asked, "Katz? Do you want me to brush your back for you?"

Ever since the incident with the spirit Big Toe and his goons brought, Katz had gotten moody. Well, a lot moodier than usual. Especially when Courage and Cajun were hanging out together, and Courage couldn't understand why it was since Katz wouldn't talk about it. Courage hoped that offering to brush the feline will ease his mood.

Katz studied Courage for a moment, turned back to his book, and said, "No, thank you. I can manage on my own."

"Are you sure?" Courage pushed.

"Yes, Courage. I'm sure." Katz said, his tail twitching in agitation.

"Okay." Courage said, feeling dejected.

Courage headed into the kitchen, where he found Cajun drinking water from a glass.

"Why so glum, Pup?" Cajun asked, concerned.

"I offered to brush Katz, but he turned it down." Courage explained.

Cajun snorted. "Ya have a better chance at brushing Le Quack than brushing the kitty."

It was a good thing Le Quack was there, or else he would've smacked Cajun with his mallet.

"What about Weremole?" Courage asked.

"When I mentioned havin' his fur brushed, he bolted for the hole he made in the ground. Probably doesn't want his fur harvested." Cajun answered.

Courage could see Weremole's reasoning when it came to his fur. After all, it's the antidote for when he bites someone and turns them into a weremole.

Cajun set his empty glass in the sink and announced, "Now that my fur is free of loose hair, I don't have to worry about clogging the drain. See you in an hour or two, Pup."

Cajun left Courage alone in the kitchen, and the dog let out a sigh. His thoughts keep returning to Katz, and Courage wished he knew why Katz was acting the way he was and that he could find a way to help him. Every time Courage asked about it, Katz would avoid the question or simply say he was fine, but Courage knew he wasn't. Courage wanted to cheer Katz up and wished he knew the cat's favorite food was, but he was evasive about it when he asked. Courage could make happy plums, and he was glad he got the ingredients to make it. But it would take time to make it so for now; Courage decided to make a pot of Katz's favorite tea and bring it to him before starting on the happy plums.

Courage had a pot of tea steeped the way Katz liked it on a tray along with a teacup, a bowl of sugar, and a little pitcher of milk. He took one look at the tray and decided that it could use a plate of cookies as well. Courage wished he had time to bake the cookies for Katz and hoped he would be okay with store-bought cookies instead. Courage pushed one of the chairs over to the sink and stacked pots on top of the chair to reach the top cupboard where the cookies are.

As he stood precariously on the cooking pots and hoping they don't go toppling over, Courage wished that Cajun placed the baked goods closer to the ground where he could reach them. After getting the cookies, Courage carefully climbed down his dog-made ladder, took one step for the table, and stopped.

There sitting at the table drinking Katz' tea was a human. "Mmm, this is delicious." the human said.

"Who are you?" Courage finally asked once he found his voice.

The human turned and looked in Courage's direction. "I'm the God of Love, Eros," he answered and took another sip of the tea.

Courage blinked as he stared at the human claiming to be a god, and he could see that his curly hair was the color of gold, he wore a white toga much like the Storm Goddess, and Goose God did. White feathery wings fluttered occasionally, a sling hung across his back, and a golden bow leaned against the table. Yes, Courage could see how this could be Eros.

"Ah, what are you doing here?" Courage asked as the familiar anxiety inside him began to rise in him.

"Someone asked me to do them a favor," Eros answered as he took hold of his bow.

Courage's heart began to thump hard against his ribcage, and the cookies were getting crushed between his paws. "Wh-what favor?" he stuttered.

"Oh, it involves you," Eros said as he notched an arrow. "Now hold still. I promise this won't hurt at all."

That had to be the first time someone told Courage that being shot with something pointy wasn't going to hurt, and he may have believed the God of Love if fear and instinct didn't run amok in the dog. As Eros let the arrow loose, Courage cried out in surprise and held up the cookie package as a shield. Amazingly, the packaging stopped the arrow from hitting Courage, while Eros himself stood surprised by it, Courage tossed the box aside, it hit one of the pots, causing them all to topple over with a loud crash, and made a dash for the kitchen door.

Courage heard Eros muttering as he pushed the door open, and he was sure the God was getting ready to notch another arrow. Courage hurried through the dining room, and he realized his mistake when he saw Katz halfway across the living room with a look of worry on his face.

"Courage? What is-" Katz was interrupted when an arrow sailed through the air and hit Katz in the chest.

Courage gasped in horror as Katz fell back, and he ran over to the cat. "Katz!" Courage screamed in fear.

Courage pulled the arrow out and searched for a wound and was relieved to find none. "Katz! Are you all right?" he asked once he turned his attention back to the feline.

Katz turned his head towards Courage and stared at him. Courage grew worried again and was about to ask another question when the feline pulled the canine into a hug and did something Courage never thought the cat would ever do to him or anyone else. Katz kissed him. Katz had kissed Courage and was now purring and nuzzling him!

Courage was so flabbergasted by his predicament; he nearly forgot the reason he was running in the first place.

"I guess this works out," Eros said as he walked into the room. "Now, be a good puppy and let me shoot you."

Courage couldn't get away anyway, plus Katz's hold on Courage had tightened as the cat hissed at Eros. Eros ignored the cat as he drew the drawstring on his bow back. It wavered about as Eros tried to find an opening to shoot Courage.

Frustrated at the cat's attempts to shield Courage, Eros said to the dog, "Can you please tell the cat to release you so I can use this arrow on you?"

Courage, of course, screamed again in terror at the thought of being shot. Cajun sopping wet, with a towel around his waist, came tromping down the stairs. The fox had forgotten his sunglasses in his haste to see what had Courage screaming in terror.

"Pup! What's the matter?!" He hollered.

Caught unguard, Eros turned towards the newcomer just as he released his hold on the drawstring. The arrow lodged into Cajun's chest, causing him to tumble down the stairs, landing in a heap near the grandfather clock. Courage winced when he heard Cajun's fall and managing to free himself from Katz's embrace somehow, hurried over to Cajun to see if he was alright.

"Cajun!" Courage howled soon realized he made a huge mistake as he kneeled next to the fox.

Cajun looked up at Courage stunned and, much like Katz did, pulled the dog into his grasp but licked his muzzle instead. Courage was aghast at what was transpiring, especially when Katz tried pulling him out of Cajun's arms with a snarl.

"Oops. I didn't expect this to happen," Eros sheepishly said as he scratched his head at what he did. "Thinking about it now, I should've just poked you with the arrow instead."

"Can you fix this?" gasped Courage as Cajun and Katz squeezed the air out his lungs from fighting over him.

"Sorry, but I'm needed elsewhere," Eros answered suddenly. "But don't worry, the effect of the arrows will wear off at midnight tonight. So good luck with those two. You'll certainly need it."

And with that, Eros was gone. Out the front door, that is. Courage howled in exasperation at the same time Cajun yelped when Katz poked him in the eyes. Katz cradled Courage in his arms and gave him another affectionate nuzzle. Courage let out a sigh. It was barely noon, and it was still many hours until midnight before Katz and Cajun returned to their old selves. He was sure he could find a way to handle the love-stricken cat and fox. How hard could it be?

=======================================================================================

"Courage is mine!" Katz growled.

"No, Pup belongs to me!" Cajun snarled.

"I love him!" Katz snapped.

"I love him more than you!" Cajun barked back.

Courage learned sooner than later that having to deal with two people struck by Cupid's arrows and falling in love with him was harder than he thought. Katz and Cajun had begun their bickering over Courage that the dog was worried that they would start a painful game of tug-of-war with him. They instead released their hold on Courage and began grappling over him. They were rolling on the floor when Le Quack and the Clutching Foot returned from their expedition.

They stood rooted to their spot, watching the unusual event happening before them. Big Toe and the other four toes began making bets on what was going on at the same time Le Quack asked, "Qu'est-ce que ç'est?"

Courage decided to take that opportunity to make a run for it, leaving the two very confused. Courage's chest heaved as he panted for air while pressed against the back of the house.

Courage's eyes caught sight of one of the holes Weremole made and thinking that it would make an excellent temporary hiding place, he scrambled towards it. Courage's back feet kicked up sand and dirt as he squirmed his way into the tunnel. Courage crawled through the maze of tunnels Weremole had made. He took a right and stopped when he came nose to nose to a snarling Weremole.

"So-sorry for disturbing you, Weremole." Courage stammered as he backed up. "I'm also sorry for coming into your home, but I'm trying to hide from Cajun and Katz."

"Grrr?" Weremole asked.

"They've gotten hit by love arrows, and I made the mistake of being in their sight when it took effect. So now they're both in love with me." Courage explained.

Weremole seemed to understand Courage's predicament and didn't say anything else about the dog being in his burrow. And Courage's reprieve didn't last long when dirt began raining down on top of him.

"Pup!" Courage heard Cajun's voice say behind him.

With a yelp, Courage crawled through the tunnels, not only forgetting that being a fox Cajun has a keen sense of smell but also was a burrowing animal as well. Behind Courage, he heard Weremole followed by a yelp from Cajun as the fox encountered the feral animal. Courage scampered up what he believed to be another way out of Weremole's home and had popped his way out, and his heart just about stopped when someone pulled him the rest of the way out the hole.

"Courage." purred Katz as he drew the dog into a hug.

Courage couldn't deny that the hug felt nice when it wasn't the two of them trying to pull him out of each other's arms. The gentle tender hug was short-lived when an orange paw shot out of the ground in reminiscence of a zombie coming out the sand that Courage screamed hysterically. The rest of Cajun popped out the field, and he shook to clear the sand from his fur and coughed. Weremole gnawed on one of Cajun's legs

"Pup? Why did ya run from me?" Cajun asked, and the hurt tone in his voice made Courage feel guilty.

"Because he has no interest in a mangy backwater fox like you," Katz answered for Courage.

Courage, of course, denied such a thing but couldn't even tell Cajun this as the fox stated, "I'll show ya what a mangy backwater fox can do!"

Both Courage and Weremole were flung through the air as Cajun tackled Katz to the ground.

"Oof! Courage cried out as he landed on his rump as Weremole landed on his back.

Weremole got to his feet and launched himself at the cat and fox. Courage didn't know what to do. Should he help them? If so, who would he help first? Certainly not Weremole, he was doing fine on his own. So that left Cajun and Katz, and he knew that he helped one, then the other would either be heartbroken or worse: try to kill his rival.

Courage jumped when he heard "Puppy dog." behind him.

Turning around revealed Le Quack. The duck watched the fight taking place as yips, growls, and curses rend the air.

"What is wrong with those two? Have they been afflicted with some, how do you say, brain injury?" Le Quack inquired as the Clutching Foot joined them.

Courage recounted to the two of how Cupid, Courage had said Eros' name, but since the Big Toe and his lackeys didn't know his actual name Courage had to use Eros' most common name, had shot Katz and Cajun with his arrows. How they both fell in love with him because he was the one they saw when the arrows took effect.

The Clutching Foot was disappointed that none of them got their bets right. Le Quack made a mistake to laugh at Courage's unfortunate predicament. Two shadows fell upon them and ending Le Quack's laugh as he looked up into the enraged faces of the fox and cat.

"Did you just laugh at Courage?" Katz asked with deadly calm.

The Clutching Foot knew trouble when he was saw and hopped away as swiftly as he could. Courage felt sorry for what was going to happen to Le Quack, but he also saw this as an opportunity to try and hide.

After turning their fury on poor Le Quack, Courage had run upstairs towards his bedroom and dove under the bed. He knew it was nothing more than a temporary haven. Time ticked by as Courage sweated, waiting for either of Katz or Cajun to show up. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and a small whine rumbled out his throat. Courage yelped when his legs grabbed, and while being dragged out, he dug his nails into the floorboards, leaving long grooves behind.

Once again, Courage was heft up from the ground and came face to face with Katz.

"What were you doing under there Courage?" Katz inquired, and before Courage could answer, his stomach growled again. Katz chuckled.

"Let's get something to eat," Katz suggested.

The cat carried Courage in his arms, and the dog couldn't think of anything to say as Katz headed down the stairs.

Katz placed Courage in a chair and patted him on the head before looking to see what was available for a meal. Katz paused when he spotted the pots on the scattered on the floor.

"Why are all these on the floor?" Katz questioned.

Courage had utterly forgotten about those! Scared of how Katz would react, Courage answered, "I made you some tea and thinking you would like some cookies I decided to use the pots to get them from one of the top cabinets because it's so high up and I'm small. I accidentally knocked them over. I'm sorry!"

"You made me tea?" Katz inquired, and looking at the table, saw the tray and teapot Courage had left there.

"I wanted to cheer you up and thought making your favorite tea for you would do the trick." Courage said as he blushed.

Courage didn't expect Katz to caress his face, and it certainly gave him an odd feeling in his stomach. "You're so sweet, Courage." Katz cooed and smiled at the small pink dog. "You sit there, and I'll put the pots away and get something for you to eat."

Courage watched Katz clean up the kitchen, took one look at the crushed box of cookies, declared it was no longer edible, and threw it away. Courage was shocked by that. Katz always had an issue about anyone wasting food, and here he was doing just that. The arrow truly messed him up.

Now Courage stared at the plate of cookies Katz had placed before him along with a glass of milk while Katz sat nearby, paws tucked under his chin as he watched Courage with his tail swishing side to side.

Courage could count on one hand the number of tense meals he had. He chose a cookie from the plate and took a bite. His mouth felt as dry as the desert outside as he chewed and hoped he didn't choke when he swallows. Courage did choke, but it wasn't because of the cookies nor from Katz never taking his eyes off the dog. It was simply because Cajun kicked the door in, startling Courage. It would've been terrifying if the door hadn't swung back and smacked into Cajun, causing the fox to let out a bark of pain.

Cajun pushed the door open more gently this time, and he walked in, rubbing his nose. The hostility Courage could feel from Cajun and Katz glaring at each other increased the tension so much that Courage wanted to get away as quick as possible. He shifted in his chair and made the best impression of a deer caught in headlights when the fox and cat turned their attention to him.

Cajun noticed the cookies on the table and said, "Oh, are you hungry, Pup? Let me cook you something."

He headed for the fridge when Katz stood up from his seat and said, "I was going to make something for him."

Katz and Cajun shoved at each other as they grabbed for ingredients for whatever it was they planned to cook for Courage. As Courage slowly and quietly got down from the chair, he began to start hating himself for continually running away as he quickly slipped out the backdoor and once again ran for it.

Courage stopped in the kitchen as he panted with his tongue lolling out. He was exhausted. His legs were tired and cramping. Courage desperately wanted to sit and rest, but he couldn't allow himself that. Not while Katz and Cajun were on the hunt for him.

He tried finding new places to hide, but Katz and Cajun always found him. Courage had wondered where the last three remaining villains were and learned that Weremole had grown bored of using Cajun and Katz as a chew toy and retreated into his lair. The Clutching Foot was hiding out in the basement, which left Le Quack's whereabouts unknown. Probably off somewhere licking his wounds.

Courage looked around the kitchen; it looked like a warzone. Katz or Cajun left the faucet on, and water flowed over the basin, leaving a giant growing puddle. Vegetables and fruit were thrown so forcefully the stuck to the wall and eggs dripped from the ceiling. There was an enormous head-shaped dent in the fridge door, and knives of different sizes embedded in the wall, table, and the kitchen door. Something charred, smoking, and inedible were all that remained in one of the pans on the stove. Courage cocked his head and listened for either cat or fox. Not hearing either nearby, he was sure he still had time before they discovered his current location, Courage walked around the puddle as he made his way over to the sink, hopped up and turned the water off. Courage jumped clear of the pool and tried to think of something, anything. He needed a new place to hide. Katz and Cajun found his hiding spots much too quickly. He gazed out at the miles of desert and promptly shook his head. Not only would Courage not be able to find suitable shelter out there, but he would need to bring provisions and something warm with him to last him until midnight.

Of course, he didn't have to attempt to survive in the desert. Courage could head to Shirley's wagon and hide there. But even then, he knew if he did that, she would possibly place a curse on the fox and cat, and that was something Courage didn't want for Katz and Cajun. He couldn't fault them on the way they were behaving. He could take the truck and hide in town. But they would hear the truck and find some way to follow him into town. And even if the people in town were able to mask his scent, they would tear the city apart looking for him.

Whoever asked Eros this favor no doubt knew what they were doing if they intended to get rid of Courage. Courage didn't want to think it, but he was sure the effect on Katz and Cajun were getting worse with their maddening desire to claim him as their lover. And he feared that one or both would kill each other or kill him if they couldn't have him for themselves.

Courage wanted to let out a howl of frustration but dare not lest he disclosed his location to the other two. As Courage racked his brain for a solution, he wasn't aware of the tall, beautiful woman emerging from the pool of water behind him. He heard not a sound as she raised her arms clad in black from the puddle. If Courage was aware of the newcomer, it was too late. A hand clamped his muzzle shut, the other hand wrapped around his chest, and back into the pool, she went, taking Courage with her.

=======================================================================================

"Where is he?" Katz growled as he stalked the grounds. He wasn't thrilled that the fox was also looking for Courage as well, but at least he wasn't with him now.

They searched everywhere they could think of where Courage could hide in like the chimney. The fox and cat checked all of Courage's hiding spots again, all except Weremole's den, Cajun didn't want to incur the feral mole's wrath again. Growling again, Katz approached the kitchen door. Inside, he paused when he spotted Cajun roaming the room.

Katz's eyes narrowed as he watched the fox. "What are you doing?"

"Pup's scent is the strongest here," Cajun explained.

Katz sniffed the air then made a face. He was amazed the fox could pick Courage's scent through such a repugnant smell permeating the air.

"Pup was here in the kitchen, and that's it. I get nothin' near either door. It's like he vanished in thin air." Cajun continued.

Katz scoffed. How stupid can the fox be? "That's preposterous. Someone can't vanish into thin air." he voiced.

As if on cue, they both jumped when they heard Courage screaming in terror. Fear for what could be happening to the dog and hot anger for whoever is causing those screams had both Katz and Cajun racing out the back door following the shout to the back of the barn. They ran around the end of the massive structure merely to skid to a stop when what they across was not Courage. Still, a stereo with a speaker belting out a recording of Courage screaming and next to it was a small pile of bombs with a timer attached to one already counting down. They barely had time to react when the timer reached zero, followed by the bombs going off in a massive and loud explosion.

=======================================================================================

Let's take a moment to change locations and divulge where Courage is. Courage's current situation was that of a tropical paradise. Leaves from palm trees fluttered in the gentle salty breeze, and a quaint little resort settled further up the beach. The beach itself was clean and warm, and it was here that Courage laid in a lounge chair looking at the sea. The water hitting the surf and seagulls calling was quite relaxing. But not by much.

"Why am I here?" Courage wondered aloud.

"The Black Puddle Queen brought you here to keep you safe." Le Quack answered as he walked up to the lounging dog.

Courage next asked, "Why are you here?"

"The Black Puddle Queen thought it would be best that you had someone to keep you company. Drink?" he offered the coconut cup he held in one of his wings to Courage.

Courage thanked Le Quack and took the drink from him. Le Quack jumped into the other lounge chair next to Courage's and took a sip from his straw.

"But why are you here?" Courage asked again.

"Would you rather have Big Toe or Weremole here?" Le Quack asked himself.

Courage knew for sure that if Big Toe were here, he would be trying to rob the tourists and the resort and ff Weremole were here, he would either dig tunnels everywhere or try to eat the people here.

"Not really." Courage answered.

"There you go." Le Quack retorted.

Le Quack drank more of his drink while Courage just stared down at his. He was grateful the Black Puddle Queen helped him get away from Katz and Cajun and hoped that they would be alright. After all, he can't fault them for their behavior. But still, Courage's paranoia continued to run rampant as he expected to see a plane appear in the sky or a submarine to surface in the ocean. Courage was amazed his fur hadn't started falling out from the whole ordeal. He sighed and took another drink.

Le Quack noticed and asked, "What is on your mind, Puppy dog?"

"I'm worried about Katz and Cajun," he answered.

"How so?" Le Quack asked.

"I expect to see Katz and Cajun showing up even though I know they don't have a clue where I am. I also don't want them to kill each other over me."

"They'll be fine." Le Quack reassured Courage, paused, then added. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Courage inquired. Le Quack just cackled in response, which caused dread to settle in Courage's stomach. "What did you do?" he pushed.

"I did not appreciate them beating me up, so I left them a little present." Le Quack answered

"What present?" Courage asked.

"Nothing too terrible, just a few bombs rigged to a timer." Le Quack told the dog.

"Bombs?!" Courage yelped.

"Don't worry your fluffy little head off; the explosion won't kill them. Hopefully. It should be a lesson to them that Le Quack always gets the last laugh." Le Quack stated.

As the duck began laughing his diabolical laugh, Courage added this new information to his list of things to stress over. He prayed that Katz and Cajun were doing fine.

=======================================================================================

_"You both were acting like Courage was in heat the way the two of you were chasing after him and attacking each other." a blush coloring the Black Puddle Queen's cheeks as she spoke those words. "You both became a danger to him, and to save him, I took him somewhere safe."_

It was a little past midnight when the Black Puddle Queen talked to the two then left through the bucket of water that was in the living room. Now it was creeping up on one in the morning as Katz sat in the armchair, and his body racked with pain as he pressed an icepack to his eye. Katz had bandages wrapped around his wrist and hand holding the icepack, around his forehead and wounding about his left ear, and his chest. The gauzy material was also around the quarter end of his tail and both his legs.

"Why am I the only one with the cone?" Cajun complained.

"Will you desist your persistent whining?" Katz inquired. He slowly turned his head to the fox sitting in the rocking chair next to him. Cajun's whole body seemingly encased in a cast with a cone securely around his head.

"I'm only whinin' 'cuz I'm the only one wearing this cone," Cajun said.

"You are more injured than me," Katz answered.

"I wouldn't be if someone hadn't used me as a shield," Cajun growled.

It felt like a headache beginning to blossom in Katz's head, and he slowly rubbed his temple to ease it.

"Please do shut up before I turn your cone into a fishbowl." Katz sighed.

"Turn it into a martini cup, and I'll drown happily." Cajun chirped.

Katz's lips twitched as he tried not to smile at Cajun's remark. The two were silent for a while more before Cajun asked, "When is Queenie gonna bring Pup back?"

"In a day or two. She thinks Courage should relax a bit before returning home." Katz answered.

Katz and Cajun were alone in the living room. The Weremole was in his home underground, the Clutching Foot retired to the basement soon after finishing their story, and the Black Puddle Queen went to check on Le Quack and Courage at wherever it is she put them. She still wouldn't disclose their location to them. "Just in case." was her reasoning.

"I don't blame her for thinking Pup needs to be away. The Pup must've been freaking out by our behavior the whole time." Cajun stated.

"Yes." Katz agreed with a heavy heart. The explosion had thrown them quite a distance and knocked the two out for several hours. When they came to, Weremole and the Clutching Foot was helping the Black Puddle Queen tend to their injuries and barely being able to move were confided to the chairs. It was around this time the arrows' effect wore off, and neither Katz nor Cajun could remember any of their actions; it was akin to being in a drunken stupor, minus the hangover. But after seeing the state of the house of the living room and being told what the grounds looked like, they knew it wasn't good. They were both equally horrified by how they were acting when the Clutching Foot, Weremole, and the Black Puddle Queen recounted what took place. How did the Black Puddle Queen know what was transpiring? She was watching what was happening through any open water on the farm accessible from her realm.

For Katz, it was bad enough that he has to compete against Cajun for the dog's love without the help of Cupid's arrows, but to fight over Courage like he was some prize to be won while under the influence of the arrow. . .it made the cat physically ill. The cat felt so downtrodden over the whole thing that he was ready to concede to the fox.

"The sucky part of the whole thing is that I don't romantically like Pup." moaned Cajun.

"What?" Katz perked up, and his heart skipped a beat at the fox's words.

"I said I ain't interested in Pup in that way," Cajun clarified.

"But you're so nice to him all the time," Katz stated.

"Just cuz I'm nice doesn't mean I love 'im," Cajun affirmed.

"You're not nice to me." Katz pointed out.

"Hard put bein' nice to someone who constantly tries to cave my head in or tries to disembowel me." Cajun retorted with a growl.

"Touché," Katz said.

"Now that ya know I ain't interested in Pup, ya can pursue him romantically," Cajun told the cat.

"Wh-what?" Katz stammered.

"Have you become hard of hearin' suddenly? I said you can try your paw at startin' a relationship with Pup." Cajun reiterated.

"What makes you think I. . . love Courage?" Katz pressed.

"Well, for starters, ya stopped callin' him 'dog' and started callin' him by his name. Secondly, winnin' that fish plushie at the County fair is somethin' someone would do for the one they love and thirdly, the way ya hesitated when ya used the word 'love.' Now I ain't a genius, but I ain't stupid neither, and I can see that ya love Pup." Cajun explained.

If Katz's fur weren't already a shade of scarlet, he certainly would be that color right now. He thought he hid his feelings for the dog so well.

"Am I that transparent?" Katz questioned.

"Possibly," Cajun answered. "I always thought you hated all dogs."

"I do," Katz confirmed. There is one such dog that will always fill him with hatred whenever he thinks of him. "I'll admit that I hated Courage for continually thwarting my schemes and for defeating us when that farmer called us to help destroy him. After returning to my motel to lick my wounds, I pondered on what was it that made Courage able to defeat us time and time again. So, when I learned of the farmer and his wife's passing, I thought it an opportunity to learn more about Courage."

"Ya never expected to experience it firsthand with all the spooky stuff that's been happening after gettin' here," Cajun confirmed.

"Quite." Katz agreed. "I'm still unsure when my acrimony for Courage changed to affection, but I know seeing you with him tended to make my blood boil."

"Wait. Ya mean to tell me the reason ya abused me all the time is cuz ya were jealous of Pup and me?" Cajun asked, stunned.

"Yes," Katz answered solemnly.

Cajun stared at Katz for a minute then began cackling, "Hahahaha- ow! Hahahahaha- ow! Hahahahahahaha- ow!"

Katz threw his icepack at the laughing fox and hissed when pain flared in his wrist. The icepack bounced off the cone and flopped to the floor. Katz glared at the icepack like it just insulted his mother and moved his leg to drag it back to him, but seeing how it was further than he expected, he quickly gave up as he was too much in pain and too tired to make an effort to retrieve it.

By then, Cajun was done laughing and gasping from pain, he said, "I never pegged ya for the jealous type."

Katz merely grunted in response.

Cajun then asked, "Why didn't ya make your move on Pup yet? Worried that the other villains have a thing for him too?"

"Would they?" Katz asked in return.

"I can't speak for Weremole and Le Quack. Black Puddle Queen is more of the seduce 'em and eat 'em type. Though I'm sure, the Clutching Foot ain't interested seein' how dog saliva is the cure to get rid of him and his lackeys." Cajun answered and then added, "Even if one or all of them love Pup romantically, he ain't gonna reciprocate it back."

"What makes you say that?" Katz inquired.

"I'm pretty sure Pup has romantic feelings for ya too," Cajun answered.

Katz blinked his yellows eyes at the fox. Surely, he's jesting. "What makes you say that?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Besides Pup only reactin' to your name when that water creature had its hold on him, he runs to ya anytime somethin' spooky happens." Cajun pointed out.

Katz took that moment to analyzed Cajun's words. Yes, Courage responded to Katz's voice and as for running to him. . .back when the dummy transferred his soul into Katz's body and vice-versa, he couldn't move at all, and he couldn't speak unless someone used the trigger and handle inside the dummy's body, but he could hear, and Katz did hear Courage run into the room calling out his name. And Courage did come to Katz when the dog thought Cajun was planning to cook him. Could it be true?

"I see that wheel in your head turnin', pussy cat, and ya shouldn't be afraid to try and confess to Pup, or else it'll be too late, and you'll regret it," Cajun stated. "Christmas is right around the corner; ya should get somethin' special for Pup and Valentine's is comin' up too so ya should think about doin' somethin' romantic with Pup on that day."

"I never pegged you as a romantic," Katz said.

"If ya made an effort to get to know me, ya would've known." Cajun countered.

Katz certainly didn't want to agree with Cajun, so he grunted in reply as he slowly pushed himself up. "I think I'll make my way to bed. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I am healed and can clean the house before Courage comes home."

"Sounds like a plan." agreed Cajun.

Once Katz was on his feet, he watched as Cajun rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, grunting as he went and flopping forward onto the floor. Katz heard a muffled "Ow," come out of Cajun as he laid face-first on the ground.

"Do you need help?" Katz asked, dreading having to help Cajun as he felt the ache in his body.

"Just flip me on my back, and I'll sleep here on the floor," Cajun answered.

Katz slowly worked on getting down on his knees, with his already sore arms and with more grunts and groans, managed to push Cajun onto his back.

"Thanks, pussy cat," Cajun sighed gratefully.

Katz took a few steps towards the stairs, stopped, and meandered over to the couch. He grabbed the blanket draped on the sofa, dragged it over to where Cajun laid, and placed it on top of the fox.

Cajun was surprised by Katz's gesture but didn't show it. "Thanks again, pussy cat." he chirped.

"You're welcome," Katz said.

Katz pivoted and made his way to his room once again. Once he climbed up the steps and was in his room with the door shut, the cat flopped onto the bed, too exhausted to care if he wasn't laying in it correctly. Katz fell asleep almost instantly, but before he did, he had to wonder why Cupid decided to show up and hit him and Cajun with his arrows.

=======================================================================================

Now, who was it that asked Eros for the favor in the first place? Well, it so happened that Eros returned home to the heavens only to be greeted by a God and Goddess.

"How did it go?" the Goose God inquired.

"Did Courage and the one he loves have a good time?" the Storm Goddess asked.

"I didn't hit Courage with my arrow," Eros admitted.

"What?" they both asked incredulously.

"I hit the cat and the fox with my arrows, and they both fell in love with the dog," continued Eros.

"WHAT?!" they both screamed.

"I wanted to thank the dog for helping me get with Trucky." the Goose God bemoaned.

"And I wanted to thank Courage for reuniting me with my Duncan." the Storm Goddess added as she hugged her precious Duncan. "So, Goose God, and I thought Courage spending time with the one he loves would be a nice early Christmas present from us both."

"But, you somehow managed to screw it up?" the Goose God demanded.

"I may have told the dog I made a mistake when I shot the fox with my last arrow, but I actually knew what I was doing. The dog will get with the cat in due time." Eros told them both.

"So, are you going to make Courage and the cat fall in love with each other?" the Storm Goddess asked.

"Seeing how they already are in love with one another and don't need my help, I'll let them get to that point on their own," Eros explained then left.

Yes, he knew Courage and Katz were in love with each other the moment he set eyes on them, and he could tell the cat was bitter towards the fox involving the dog. So, he gave a little push to get the ball rolling with this seemingly love triangle the cat thought was going on. He stayed and watched the whole thing with his iron arrows ready to cancel out the love his arrows created if things have gotten out of hand. Courage and Katz will become a couple in time; they certainly don't need outside help for that. After all, who knows love better than the God of Love himself?


End file.
